The Cincinnati Bengals were a thoroughly average team during the 2021 season when it came to third-down offense. They converted about 40 percent of their third-down attempts, which ranked 16th in the NFL. If they had mustered even that inside of SoFi Stadium on Sunday, perhaps they would be shining up a Lombardi right now.
The AFC North champions went just 3-for-14 on third down during the Super Bowl. They also went 1-for-3 on fourth-down conversion attempts. They faced only two short-yardage situations on possessions downs on which they attempted to run the ball by design.
Samaje Perine got the carry on both of those attempts, and was the target on the final 4th-and-1 play, despite having a Pro Bowl featured running back in Joe Mixon.