Where did things go wrong for the Cincinnati Bengals this season?

Two games remain in the season, but it's not too early to start examining what went wrong in 2016.

Here are seven of the biggest issues:

1. The offensive line struggled.

Letting Andre Smith walk in free agency seemed to make sense in the offseason, but right tackle was never locked down in his absence.

Cedric Ogbuehi was benched last week in favor of Jake Fisher, but the problems were not limited to one position as interior push was also inconsistent all season.

2. The secondary stunk too often.

The story was similar in the secondary, where Reggie Nelson left and big plays began piling up early in the season.

The situation stabilized to a certain extent in the second half, but by then the damage had been done, particularly the loss to Denver and tie with Washington in which the was secondary torched. (They also got lit up by Tom Brady, but there’s not much shame in that.)

3. The pass rush was disappointing.

The names are the same, but the production dropped.

Geno Atkins (7.5 sacks) and Carlos Dunlap (seven) are the only Bengals with more than three sacks this season, and they combined for 24.5 last season.

As a team, Cincinnati has 26 through 14 games after logging 42 in 16 last season.

Michael Johnson and Domata Peko have only three combined (all by Johnson) this season after logging five apiece last year.

4. They got too little from the draft.

In a year a handful of important free agents left, the only rookies who have contributed much are Tyler Boyd and Alex Erickson (who wasn’t drafted).

First-round pick William Jackson and fourth-round pick Andrew Billings both missed the entire season with injury while third-round linebacker Nick Vigil has six tackles even as veterans in front of him have struggled.

5. The return of Average Andy.

There was lots of talk about Good Andy Dalton and Bad Andy Dalton during his first five seasons, but Year Six has just been… OK.

Dalton’s 91.9 quarterback rating is almost 15 points lower than last season but higher than his career make of 89.0.

He’s kept his interceptions down (seven so far), but when the team needed him to carry them like a franchise quarterback should (like during an 0-3-1 stretch from Oct. 30-Nov. 27) he was mostly underwhelming at best.

6. Mike Nugent’s swoon.

The Centerville native and Ohio State graduate was released last week after missing five PAT kicks and his previous six games.

Those loomed particularly large in the 27-27 tie with Washington and a 16-12 loss to Buffalo in which he missed twice.

7. Injuries didn’t help.

Health is always an important part of success in the NFL, and the Bengals did not have injury luck on their side in 2016.

In addition to getting nothing from the aforementioned rookies, the Bengals had to play significant portions of the season without Pro Bowlers Tyler Eifert and A.J. Green.

They’ve missed standout running back Gio Bernard since he blew out his knee Nov. 20 against the Bills, and the offensive line’s troubles started with preseason health problems for multiple players.