The Bengals’ first five games have left them with a 3-2 record, and the timing of the bye week could hardly be better. Cincinnati has already shown enough to suggest progress, but Joe Burrow’s point still hangs over everything: the details have to sharpen up, because the little errors have already swung two games by a combined eight points.
The most encouraging change is on defense. This is still a unit that has issues, but it looks a lot different than it did a year ago, when the Bengals were coughing up 380.9 yards and 28.9 points per game.
Through five games this season, they’re allowing 21.8 points per game, which ranks 11th in the league. They’ve also been forcing turnovers at a much better clip, including four against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the pass rush has become a real factor, with 41 pressures against the Houston Texans.
Boye Mafe and Jonathan Allen have been part of that surge, and Dexter Lawrence has been the centerpiece of it all. He’s already outperformed the huge expectations that came with being traded for the 10th overall pick in the 2026 Draft.
Even so, Cincinnati’s run defense has not matched the rest of the improvement. Lawrence helped lift the Bengals from the NFL’s lowest run stuff rate in 2025 to the highest through Week 5 of this season, but once runners get beyond him, problems show up fast.
Over the last three weeks, the Bengals have been giving up 155.3 rushing yards per game. That stretch has lined up with back-to-back losses and a Miami game that was much tighter than it should have been.
If Lamar Jackson is on the field Sunday, that weakness could get tested hard.
On offense, Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase are still the engine. The passing game is producing 260 yards per game, which ranks seventh in the NFL, and Burrow already has 11 touchdown passes in five games.
Chase missed time after suffering a concussion against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but when he’s out there, he’s still delivering the kind of plays that jump off the screen. Tee Higgins has been excellent too, and Amarius Mims has given Cincinnati something every offense wants: an elite right tackle who very rarely gives up quarterback pressure.
The issue is that the big plays are carrying too much of the load. Burrow and his receivers are creating a lot of the offense themselves, while the ground game has done little to ease the pressure, aside from the Miami game.
Cincinnati is averaging just 82.8 rushing yards per game, which puts it 26th in the league. Against Jacksonville, Burrow had to throw it 54 times and still made a costly mistake in the fourth quarter.
That’s the danger when an offense becomes too reliant on the pass.
The Dolphins game offered a different look, and Samaje Perine’s increased role helped turn the running game around. Whether the 31-year-old can keep handling double-digit carries remains to be seen, but that outing made one thing clear: Cincinnati needs a more traditional lead runner than Chase Brown. As the source put it, there’s even a case for pursuing Jonathan Taylor.
Still, the biggest reason the Bengals are sitting at 3-2 might be that they’ve beaten themselves. The Pittsburgh loss came down largely to two special teams breakdowns.
The Jacksonville game turned on Burrow’s bad read, which wiped out a scoring chance and set up a Jaguars touchdown in the fourth quarter. And against Miami, the mistakes piled up: two personal fouls, a foul on a field goal that became a touchdown, two red zone fumbles, and a kickoff taken at the 4-yard-line.
The bye gives Zac Taylor and his team a chance to reset before the next challenge, which is Derrick Henry and the Ravens.
In Other News...
Bengals Suddenly Linked To A Move That Could Change Their Offense
The Colts 2-4 start and the firing of general manager Chris Ballard have stirred up an already unsettled situation in Indianapolis, and it has quickly spilled into trade chatter around one of the NFLs most recognizable running backs. Jonathan Taylors name is suddenly back in the rumor mill, with Cincinnati among the teams said to have at least checked in as clubs look at whether the Colts might be willing to move him.
For the Bengals, the appeal is obvious enough to make the speculation worth watching, even if nothing has been confirmed by Indianapolis or any of the teams involved. Seattle has also been tied to the same broader sweepstakes, and the fact that several clubs are believed to have called the Colts suggests this could become a real story if the market keeps building, leaving Cincinnati fans to wonder whether a major offensive addition is even possible. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Face A Trade Deadline Question Their Secondary May Force
With the Bengals navigating a wave of defensive injuries, the trade deadline has started to feel less like a formality and more like a possible fix. Cincinnati has been linked to the idea of adding help to the secondary, and Los Angeles safety Derwin James has emerged as the kind of versatile player who could matter on the back end and in the box if the team decides to make a move.
James brings the sort of name and skill set that would draw attention anywhere, even if the situation in Los Angeles makes a deal more complicated than it looks on paper. The Chargers have their own issues as they try to steady a struggling season, and any discussion around a deadline splash comes with the reality that nothing has been confirmed. For the Bengals, the question is whether the need in the secondary pushes them from monitoring the market to actually acting on it. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Have A Special Teams Problem Beyond Their Star Kicker
Evan McPherson has given the Bengals a stabilizing presence in a season when so much around him has felt uneven. His reliable kicking has helped keep Cincinnati afloat in tight spots, but the bigger special teams picture has been far less tidy, with the punt and kickoff units leaving too many openings for opponents to take advantage of. Costly penalties, coverage breakdowns and mishandled returns have repeatedly turned routine snaps into hidden-yardage losses.
Ryan Rehkows production has also been part of the concern, as his average punt distance has lagged behind the better legs around the league. For a team trying to stay competitive, those issues matter because special teams errors do not just change field position, they can swing momentum and put stress on the rest of the roster. Cincinnati has the kind of kicking game that should be an asset, but the rest of the operation has not always done McPherson or the Bengals many favors. [Read more 🡒]