After a 5-2 start, the Bengals have once again firmly established themselves among the best teams in the AFC. That said, the team still has plenty of flaws, but legends like Rob Gronkowski haven't stopped acknowledging them as a contender.

Gronkowski acknowledged the tackling issues and inability to run the football. However, he also clarified that Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase, and the team's tight ends make the team a must-watch spectacle week in and week out.

"They're contenders, but they're also a little pretend a little bit because of the miscues, a lot of turnovers still, they can't run the ball, their defense can't tackle," Gronkowski said on the Gronk and Jules show. "But their offense is so fire, and we love watching them go, Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase, Joe Burrow, they got a couple tight ends as well, you gotta tune in to the Cincinnati Bengals, they are a fireworks show basically every weekend."

Burrow set new career highs against the Titans in the team's 43-36 overtime win, totaling six touchdowns, while Higgins and Chase combined for 21 catches, 296 yards, and three touchdowns.

The Offense Can Beat Anybody

Both the defense and run game failed to impress against the lowly Titans, and neither has maintained the consistency that fans crave. However, the Bengals' offense can still beat any team in the league with its explosiveness.

Burrow and the team's other stars have consistently proven they can hold their own in shootouts over the last three years. The difference between now and those last three years, however, is the defense's ability to make a big play in a big moment. While the unit failed to make a play in key moments in the past, Dexter Lawrence changed that trend with a late-fourth-quarter sack of Cam Ward on Sunday to force overtime.

That moment, combined with a Boye Mafe strip-sack in the third quarter after Burrow threw an interception, shows this team can win high-scoring games after years of failure. Burrow himself confirmed this in his postgame press conference when he acknowledged that the Bengals win over the Titans has resulted in a loss in the past three seasons.

“We found a way to win today, we are 5-2, we lose that game the last three years.” Burrow said.

With the defense showing it can close out games on Sunday, the Bengals offense alone makes this team a true contender for the rest of the season.

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