Every honest evaluation of the Cincinnati Bengals begins in the same place, and wrestles with the same tension. When Joe Burrow is healthy, Cincinnati has one of the few quarterbacks in football who can tilt games on his own. Not manage them. Not survive them. Win them because of who he is.
That is the foundation... but it's also the risk.
Burrow remains just 29 years old, squarely in his prime, but availability has been the defining variable of his career. When he is upright, the Bengals’ offense functions at a championship level. When he is not, the entire structure creaks.