The Bengals are climbing fast, and the reason is simple: this is no longer the same old Cincinnati team with Joe Burrow throwing haymakers and waiting on the other side of the ball to hold up its end.
That defense has arrived.
Cincinnati went into Houston on Sunday and walked out with a 20-6 win, and the story wasn’t just Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase making plays. The Bengals smothered the Texans all afternoon with a front that was constantly in the backfield, piling up four sacks and shutting down Houston’s offense from start to finish. It was only the third time since Zac Taylor took over that Cincinnati has kept an opponent out of the end zone.
There was a tone-setting moment in the second quarter, too. On fourth-and-1 at the Cincinnati 18, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence stuffed David Montgomery.
That stop mattered, and so does the trade that brought Lawrence in after the Bengals sent a first-round pick to get him this year. Right now, that move looks like a steal for Cincinnati.
The upgrades didn’t stop there. Jonathan Allen and pass rusher Boye Mafe were brought in to fortify the front, and the younger edge players are making noise as well.
Shemar Stewart, Cedric Johnson and rookie Cashius Howell have added real juice to a unit that already has veterans making plays. Johnson had two sacks Sunday, and the Bengals now have a defense that looks capable of doing more than just surviving.
Through two games, Cincinnati is giving up 16.5 points per game, which ranks tied for eighth. The Bengals are also tied for first in sacks with eight.
That’s why they’ve jumped to No. 4 in the latest rankings, and why a trip to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers feels like an early test of just how real this start is. Cincinnati is the only unbeaten team left in the AFC North.
At the top of the board, Seattle stays No. 1 after beating Arizona with backup quarterback Drew Lock handling the job nicely on the road. Buffalo is right there at No. 2, and Josh Allen has looked every bit like an MVP front-runner over the first two weeks, even if the defense still needs work.
The rest of the top tier is packed with teams that have done enough to stay in the mix. San Francisco sits third, with its stars continuing to carry the load under Kyle Shanahan.
Kansas City is fifth after the passing game woke up in the win over Indianapolis, with Patrick Mahomes looking like himself again. Minnesota, Philadelphia, the Rams and Denver round out a top 10 that has already started to sort itself out.
And then there are the teams that have surprised for the wrong reasons. Houston, the Chargers and Tampa Bay are all 0-2, and none of them can afford to slip to 0-3 this week if they want to stay in the race. The Dolphins remain at the bottom after getting beaten up on the road by the 49ers and Chiefs.
The biggest movers on the board were the Raiders and Texans, each up 12 spots.
Here’s how the rest of the rankings shake out:
Seattle remains first at 2-0, with Buffalo second and San Francisco third, while Cincinnati sits fourth. Kansas City is fifth, followed by Minnesota, Philadelphia, the Rams, Denver and Jacksonville. Baltimore drops to 11th after a home loss to New Orleans, and Chicago falls to 12th with Caleb Williams now sidelined for a while.
Green Bay is 13th after rallying past the Jets, while New England checks in at 14th after the defense carried the day against Pittsburgh. Detroit is 15th, and Las Vegas is one of the early surprises at 16th after beating the Chargers.
Dallas is 17th after a blowout win over Washington, and the Saints are up to 18th after their comeback in Baltimore. The Giants fall to 19th, Carolina rises to 20th, and Tampa Bay is 21st at 0-2.
Pittsburgh sits 22nd, the Chargers 23rd, Houston 24th and Indianapolis 25th. Arizona is 26th, the Jets 27th, Cleveland 28th, Washington 29th, Atlanta 30th and Tennessee 31st.
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