The Bengals’ bye week awards start where this season’s turnaround story really begins: Joe Burrow.
After a 6-11 finish last year and a 1-8 skid while Burrow was sidelined by a Grade 3 toe sprain that required surgery, Cincinnati’s quarterback is back in the driver’s seat and producing at a level that answers every question about the injury. Through five games, Burrow has completed 71.4% of his passes, thrown for 1,361 yards, and piled up 11 touchdowns with a 104.4 rating. Against Pittsburgh, he turned in a 123.9 rating, the best of his career versus the Steelers.
Burrow is the headliner, but he isn’t the only Bengal with a comeback case.
Erick All Jr. has navigated a much different road back. The tight end tore his ACL in November 2024, dealt with a setback in his recovery, and missed the entire 2025 season.
It was the second time that knee had been torn, after the same injury in his final season at Iowa. This year, though, he has been available in all five games.
The production has been light - five catches for 30 yards - but simply being on the field as the versatile tight end this offense was built around in 2024 matters.
Mike Gesicki’s bounce-back is more about impact than mere availability. He was limited to 13 games last season because of injury and finished with just 28 catches, 307 yards, and two touchdowns.
Now he already has four touchdown receptions in five games, his highest season total since 2022. At this pace, he would clear his previous single-season best of six touchdowns, set in 2020.
Demetrius Knight Jr. rounds out the group with a different kind of revival. This isn’t about injury recovery so much as a major jump from last year’s play.
Knight is currently somewhere in the middle of the linebacker PFF rankings, but that is still a notable step forward from where he was a season ago. He also owns a 71.9 PFF grade against the run, which sits in the top 20, along with 19 total tackles and 4.5 stuffed run plays.
In Other News...
Bengals Get A Timely Break Before A Crucial AFC North Stretch
The Bengals get a little breathing room in the middle of a demanding early schedule, with a Week 6 bye giving the roster a chance to reset before the AFC North race tightens up. It is the kind of pause every team values, but especially one that knows how quickly the division can turn into a week-to-week grind.
Cincinnati comes out of the break with a trip to Baltimore on Oct. 25, a game that will immediately put the spotlight back on the Bengals in one of the NFLs toughest neighborhoods. With the rest of the regular-season slate already mapped out through Week 18, the bye simply adds another layer of importance to how they handle the stretch that follows. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals May Already Have The Fix For Zac Taylors Offense
Through five weeks, the Bengals offense has looked like a unit searching for answers in two key places: the run game and the ability to create cleaner separation on the outside. Zac Taylors group has had enough talent to stay dangerous in stretches, but the way personnel has been deployed has left room for a different look, especially with the offense trying to become less predictable and more balanced.
One potential path forward is already on the roster, and it starts with players whose skill sets fit the problems Cincinnati is trying to solve. Dohnte Meyers brings a versatility that could help in the receiving mix, while the tight end group may offer the kind of formation variety this offense has lacked. If the Bengals are going to get more out of their newer under-center looks and force defenses to account for more than the same familiar alignments, the next move could come from a couple of names who have not yet been used to their full advantage. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals 2023 Draft Class Is Headed For A Tough Roster Call
The Bengals are staring at an early look at a familiar roster dilemma, with several members of their 2023 draft class moving toward free agency after the season. Jordan Battle, Chase Brown, Andrei Iosivas, Myles Murphy and DJ Turner II all give the front office something to weigh, because this is the stage of the cycle when good homegrown players start getting expensive and the team has to decide where to keep investing.
Turner stands out as the one the Bengals appear most motivated to protect, while the rest of the group could end up in the category of productive but replaceable if the price climbs too high. Cincinnati has never shied away from letting useful players walk when it believes it can redirect resources elsewhere, and this class could become the next test of how far that approach can stretch before the turnover starts to alter the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]