How can the Bengals offense manufacture more big plays?

The Bengals finally scored a touchdown (two, in fact) last week at Green Bay, but 24 points weren’t enough to beat the Packers.

Only 17 of those came from the offense, which hopes to take another step forward this week when the Bengals travel to Cleveland.

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Biting off a few big chunks of yardage might go a long way toward fully awakening the offense, but how can that be done?

“Everybody plays a part in it,” quarterback Andy Dalton said. "I’ve got to be accurate. The receivers have got to run the route the right way and the protection has to hold up.”

The Bengals have 10 plays this season that gained between 20 yards or more this season, including four last week in Green Bay.

Two of those came from the running game, a 20-yard run by Joe Mixon and a 25-yard run by Gio Bernard. The only other run of more than 20 yards this season is a 23-yard scamper by Bernard in a Week 1 loss to Baltimore.

As for the passing game, Dalton and A.J. Green have hooked up for three plays of more than 20 yards, though only one beyond 27.

Asked about that, the quarterback noted they have not taken a lot of deep shots to Green so far this season and turned the conversation back to the bigger picture.

“At the end of the day, you have to make a play,” Dalton said. “When you’ve got the ball in your hands, you’ve got to get it done.”

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