The Bengals’ Week 1 opener could come down to a familiar kind of ugly: a trench fight on Joe Burrow’s blind side.
Orlando Brown Jr. is the name that jumps out first. Cincinnati’s left tackle powered through a broken fibula late in the 2024 season while the team chased a playoff spot, but the cost of that grit may be showing. He wasn’t at his usual standard last year, and he certainly didn’t look like the Pro Bowl tackle he once was in Baltimore and Kansas City.
That matters because the Bengals’ offense has spent plenty of time in true pass sets with Burrow running the show. Week 1 should lean more toward an under-center running game plan against Tampa Bay, but that doesn’t make the matchup easy for Brown. Bucs edge rusher Yaya Diaby is still a tough draw.
There are signs Brown’s play has slipped. PFF ranked him 61st out of 84 qualifying offensive tackles in 2025.
ESPN’s Ben Baby also noted the lingering impact of Brown’s broken leg and the lack of proven depth behind him, writing: "Last year, Orlando Brown Jr. was still feeling the effects of a broken leg he suffered in 2024. He is looking for a return to pre-injury form at LT.
And if he or starter Amarius Mims goes down, the depth will be tested. The preseason didn't yield a true winner for the swing tackle job.
The Bengals claimed Myles Hinton on waivers to potentially fill that role."
The preseason only sharpened the concern. When Lions undrafted rookie Eric O'Neill beat Brown badly on a rep in the preseason opener and Burrow took the hit, it only reinforced the worry about Cincinnati’s protection on the edge.
Brown remains a respected veteran and a serviceable starter, but the bigger question is how much of his old level is still there. His recent PFF rankings among offensive tackles have not pointed in a reassuring direction.
Diaby, meanwhile, looks more dangerous than the sack totals suggest. He has 19 sacks in three seasons, which might not scream “problem” at first glance.
But last season his pass rush win rate was 17.4%, and that placed him among the best edge defenders in the league. The list of players ahead of him included Will Anderson Jr. at 26.2%, Myles Garrett at 24.6%, Aidan Hutchinson at 22.9%, Micah Parsons at 22.6%, Danielle Hunter at 20.6%, Josh Hines-Allen at 19.2%, and Jaelan Phillips at 18.8%.
That kind of production makes Diaby more than a box-score rusher. He can wreck a play even when the sack doesn’t show up.
Tampa Bay also has other pieces to throw at Cincinnati. Al-Quadin Muhammad, who had 11 sacks for the Lions last year, is in the rotation, along with Anthony Nelson and David Walker. Walker missed his entire 2025 rookie campaign, but he is described as very explosive.
The one possible opening for Brown is Diaby’s tendency to come hard and occasionally overpursue. He was disruptive, but his missed tackle rate in 2025 was 20.4%, which suggests there may be chances for Cincinnati to make him pay if Brown can get movement in the run game and keep the Bengals out of obvious passing situations.
If the game turns into a Burrow-Baker Mayfield shootout, though, Diaby could have the edge in this matchup. And that would leave Cincinnati once again hoping its quarterback stays clean in the one place that matters most.
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Baker Mayfield Just Handed Bengals Fans A Brutal Reminder
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For Bengals fans, it was a familiar kind of relief after a summer of watching another teams big contract and big expectations attached to Mayfield in Tampa. His new three-year deal keeps him in place for the long haul, but Sunday was a reminder that even with that kind of security, the margin for error is still razor thin when the ball keeps coming loose. [Read more 🡒]