The Bengals came out of their bye week at 3-2, and that record tells the story of a team that’s still very much alive but hasn’t found any clean rhythm yet. The defense has been at the center of that uneven start. Cincinnati overhauled that side of the ball after missing the playoffs for the third straight season in 2025, trading the No. 10 overall pick to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence and then adding Boye Mafe, Jonathan Allen, Bryan Cook, and Kyle Dugger in free agency.
For a couple of weeks, it looked like the plan might be working. The Bengals opened 2-0 and seemed to be moving in the right direction.
Then the next two games turned messy in a hurry. Even the win over the 0-4 Dolphins came with plenty of stress, as Cincinnati’s defense gave up 24 points to a Miami team that had managed only 13 in any game before facing the Bengals.
The most encouraging piece on the defensive side has been the run defense, at least when it comes to the big-picture job of keeping explosive plays in check. Through the first two games, Cincinnati didn’t allow a running back to break a carry longer than 13 yards against either the Buccaneers or Texans.
That changed in Week 3 against the Steelers, and it changed fast. Over the next three games, the Bengals gave up runs of 35, 25, 39, 26 and 22 yards.
That regression has come with a familiar problem: missed tackles. According to PFF, Cincinnati has a tackling grade of 50.3, which ranks seventh-worst in the NFL, and the defense has been charged with 47 missed tackles. That’s the kind of sloppiness that turns decent structure into broken plays.
Dexter Lawrence has been a bright spot against the run. Even when he isn’t making the tackle himself, he’s often tying up two blockers and opening the door for others to clean up.
But the rest of the unit hasn’t always finished the job. That matters a lot with the Ravens next on the schedule, because Cincinnati’s second divisional game of the season comes against Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson.
AFC North games are usually ugly, but the Bengals cannot afford to let those two get rolling on the ground.
The passing game defense has been more of a split-screen story. Cincinnati has rushed the passer well, racking up 17 sacks through five games, tied for third-most in the league. That pace would put them around 58 sacks over a full season, which would be a huge jump from the 2021 regular season, when the Bengals had 16 fewer sacks before making it to Super Bowl LVI.
The problem is what happens when the rush doesn’t land. In those moments, the coverage has not held up consistently enough.
The Steelers game showed that clearly. Aaron Rodgers, who is 42 years old, was able to move around, escape pressure and extend plays, and Cincinnati’s secondary couldn’t stay tight long enough when the pocket broke down.
Pittsburgh moved the ball through the air, and the Bengals had trouble getting control of the game on either level.
There’s also the larger context around the defense’s arc over the last two seasons. Cincinnati had a case in 2023 that injury was the main reason the team missed the playoffs.
That argument doesn’t hold up for 2024 or 2025. After last season, the Bengals fired defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, hoping a new voice would solve the problems.
Instead, the issues carried into 2025 under Al Golden. Rather than make another overhaul, the Bengals kept Golden and gave him more talent to work with.
So far, the results haven’t been clean.
Injuries have played a part, too. Bryan Cook, Jordan Battle, and Kyle Dugger have all been hurt, while Jalen Davis and Ja’Sir Taylor are on injured reserve. Even with those setbacks, though, this defense hasn’t consistently looked like one that received this much offseason investment.
The bye week gave Cincinnati a chance to get healthy and sort through the problems before the schedule tightens again. That’s especially important because there’s plenty riding on this season for Taylor and his staff. It’s hard to imagine the Bengals letting four prime years of Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins go by without a playoff appearance and still believing the answer is the same on the sideline.
The offense can hang with anybody. The real question is whether the defense can stop giving away explosives and finish tackles before those mistakes start swallowing games whole.
In Other News...
Bengals Head Into Ravens Test With One Defensive Problem To Fix
A familiar divisional test is waiting for Cincinnati in Week 7, and the defensive staff already has one issue circled. Al Golden pointed to perimeter run defense as the area that needs the most work after the Bengals gave up too many explosive outside runs through the first five games, a problem that can turn a routine snap into a long gain in a hurry. Against Baltimore, that kind of leak becomes even more dangerous because the Ravens are built to stretch defenses horizontally before attacking downhill.
Derrick Henry is the obvious stress point, and Cincinnati knows the game could tilt if it lets Baltimore dictate terms on the ground. Zac Taylor has also framed the matchup through the turnover battle, which adds another layer to a game that figures to be physical and possession-heavy. For the Bengals, the challenge is not just slowing one of the leagues most punishing backs, but doing it while cleaning up a run defense issue that has shown up too often already. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Trade Talk Is Suddenly Focusing On A More Realistic Fix
The Bengals running game has become a lingering concern, and it has put Chase Browns uneven season squarely in the spotlight as the trade deadline chatter starts to build. Jonathan Taylor is the obvious name to float if Cincinnati wants a bigger swing, but the more practical conversation has shifted toward other backs who could be available and better fit what the offense needs right now.
Among the alternatives being discussed are Omarion Hampton, Cam Skatterbo and Tony Pollard, each of them representing a different kind of fix for a ground game that has not found enough consistency. The appeal is not just talent, but realism: Cincinnati has to weigh who might actually be obtainable, who could help quickly and which move would make the most sense for a team trying to stabilize its offense without overreaching. [Read more 🡒]
Ja'Marr Chase Finally Opened Up About That Scary Bengals Injury
Ja'Marr Chase finally gave a clearer picture of the concussion that briefly took him off the field after the Bengals game against Jacksonville, and the detail helps explain why it looked so unsettling in real time. Speaking on a podcast, Chase described it as a whiplash-style injury caused by a twisting motion, the kind of hit that can leave a player feeling fine one moment and scrambled the next.
He also walked through the leagues concussion protocol and what the recovery week was like before he got back on the field against Miami. Chase said he had to stay away from screens and leaned on reading to pass the time, a small but telling reminder of how carefully these injuries are managed once a player is in the protocol. [Read more 🡒]