The Bengals spent Nov. 10 watching the rest of the AFC get stronger while their own roster stayed exactly where it was.
That’s the twist after a stretch that had Cincinnati feeling good about itself. The Bengals had won four straight, sat at 6-2, and returned from a successful week abroad in Madrid, where the organization was praised for how it handled itself on and off the field at the Bernabeu stadium. Then comes a primetime home game against the Steelers, who share the AFC North lead at 6-2, and the conversation around the team suddenly changed.
It changed because Cincinnati reportedly backed out of a deal for Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Arnold Ebiketie, then finished the rest of the trade deadline without making another move.
That left the Bengals standing still while several AFC rivals moved.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, who lead the AFC South at 6-1, made multiple marquee additions. The Buffalo Bills, sitting atop the AFC East at 7-1, strengthened their defense by landing Amani Hooker, a player Bengals fans will remember from Nov. 1, when he intercepted Joe Burrow three times as a Tennessee Titans player. And just before the 4 p.m. deadline, the Chiefs upgraded their offense by adding receiver Josh Downs.
Maybe Cincinnati looked at the market and decided the price was too steep. If the options on the table would have cost too much draft capital, then the Bengals may have been right to pass. But the bottom line is simple: their roster did not change, and the teams they’re most likely to run into in a deep postseason chase mostly did.
The biggest question mark that remained untouched was the run game.
Cincinnati ranks third-worst in the NFL in rushing at 85.6 yards per game, with only the Raiders and Packers sitting lower. The Bengals have been held under 100 rushing yards in five of their eight games, and Chase Brown’s top rushing output this season is 80 yards, which came in Week 2.
That’s why so many eyes were on the possibility of a backfield addition, with Colts running back Jonathan Taylor floated as a name that could fit. But without knowing what Indianapolis would have asked for, it’s fair to say Cincinnati may have been wise to stay away.
Even so, the team did nothing to bolster a running back room that has been more frustrating than productive in 2026.
Defense was another place where help seemed possible, but none arrived.
Al Golden’s unit has been good enough to keep the Bengals in games. Cincinnati has held opponents under 20 points in half its games, and the defense has allowed more than 27 points only once, in the Nov. 1 win over the Titans. At 21.9 points allowed per game, the group has given the offense a chance every week and can even claim a major share of the credit for one of the team’s six victories.
Still, the cracks are there. The Bengals remain in the bottom third of the league in yards allowed at 354.9 per game, and the deadline came and went without any help for a defense that could have used more depth.
In Other News...
Bengals Edge Pursuit Collapsed Over A Cost Fans Never Saw Coming
The Bengals spent part of their edge-rusher search trying to work out a deal for Arnold Ebiketie, but the path to getting him from Philadelphia never got close to simple. Cincinnati was willing to send a 2027 sixth-round pick, yet the real issue was not the price on the trade itself. It was the draft capital the club could have put at risk down the road, a complication that turned a relatively modest swap into a much bigger decision for the front office.
Ebiketies status with the Eagles created the kind of compensatory-pick wrinkle teams spend months trying to avoid, and the Bengals ultimately decided the cost was too steep. As a result, Cincinnati will not land Ebiketie and is unlikely to chase any player who came off the board as a compensatory free agent this offseason. For a team still looking to strengthen its pass rush, it is another reminder that roster-building is not always about what a player costs today, but what he might cost later. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Defense Has A Demetrius Knight Problem Al Golden Must Solve
With the NFL trade deadline approaching, the Bengals are weighing more than just whether to add help on defense. The bigger question may be whether Al Golden can get more out of the pieces already in place, or whether Cincinnati needs to look outside the building for a fix. That leaves the defense at a crossroads, with the front office, coaching staff and current roster all part of the same conversation.
At the center of it is Demetrius Knight Jr., whose early stretch has been uneven enough to force a closer look at how he is being used. His issues in run support and coverage have stood out, but the Bengals also see a player who can affect the pocket in the right situations. If Golden is going to squeeze more production out of this unit, the answer may lie in a system tweak that better fits Knight and the rest of the linebacking group rather than waiting for a deadline move to solve everything. [Read more 🡒]
Dexter Lawrence Just Added To Bengals Fans Joe Burrow Hype
Dexter Lawrence has wasted little time settling in with the Bengals since arriving from the Giants in April, and he has already found a way to add to the buzz around Joe Burrow. The three-time Pro Bowler has been openly complimentary of Burrow, saying he respects what the quarterback has done and wants to see him keep pushing the offense forward.
For Cincinnati fans, it is another reminder that Burrows strong play is not just carrying the team through its recent winning stretch, it is also earning the admiration of accomplished players around him. Lawrences message has been simple and confident, matching the tone around a quarterback who has looked every bit like the centerpiece of the Bengals season. [Read more 🡒]