In the Cincinnati Bengals first full game without injured quarterback Joe Burrow, head coach Zac Taylor was desperate to find a spark on offense.
He started practice squad call-up Brandon Allen at quarterback, changed the starting offensive line, gave third-string running back Trayveon Williams his first meaningful NFL snaps and even called a fake punt from deep in Bengals territory.
The Bengals offense still couldn’t find a rhythm.
The Bengals (2-8-1) had almost no offense in Sunday’s 19-17 loss to the New York Giants (4-7). Allen finished 17-29 for 136 yards, and Cincinnati only netted 40 rushing yards.