The Bengals didn’t exactly make life easy on themselves in Week 8, but they still walked out with a 43-36 overtime win over the 1-7 Tennessee Titans. Joe Burrow threw three interceptions.
Cincinnati turned it over four times. The defense kept getting hit by Tony Pollard and Cam Freaking Ward.
And still, when the game reached its biggest moments, Burrow and the Bengals found a way to finish.
Burrow accounted for six touchdowns, which is why the performance still landed in the “good teams survive ugly nights” category for some observers. For others, though, the win did little to help Cincinnati’s standing in the latest NFL power rankings. The 5-2 Bengals took a hit in most of the prominent lists despite getting the result they needed.
That disconnect is part of what has followed this team around. As Glenn Adams put it on social media, “EVERYONE feels worse about the Cincinnati Bengals?
They can’t even win correctly for the national media. Any other team, it’s, "this is what good teams do.
Imperfect games in the NFL are inevitable. Good teams & clutch players like Burrow & Lawrence come through in the end." https://t.co/v17j3CHyBc”
The bigger issue for Cincinnati, though, is that some of the criticism is rooted in real numbers. The Athletic’s Josh Kendall and Chad Graff laid out the case this way: “Reality check: The slow starts are going to bite them.
The Bengals have made strides on defense, but they are 29th in the league in yards allowed in the first half (1,455) this year. They are minus-19 in point differential in the first quarter, which also ranks 29th.”
That’s the part that keeps showing up in these rankings. The Bengals have improved, but they still haven’t erased the slow-start problem, and that’s a tough thing to ignore when the conversation turns to the league’s top teams.
As for where they should sit going into their Madrid matchup with the Falcons, the answer doesn’t move much for me. I had them no worse than No. 3 last week, and I’m staying there now, behind only maybe the Bears and Bills. The reason is simple: Cincinnati has enough firepower to beat anybody.
The schedule also matters here. After the huge road win in Baltimore, the Bengals had a stretch that included the Titans, then a trip to Madrid to face the Falcons, followed by prime-time games against the Steelers and Commanders on Sunday night and Monday night, respectively. It’s not hard to see how they might have looked past Tennessee a little, especially after the Titans traded Jeffery Simmons to Chicago.
Even with all of that, Cincinnati still handled the trap-game feel, the mistakes, and the pressure that came with it. That matters.
And if the Bengals are going to keep climbing, the rest of the defense has to keep pace with the line. Dexter Lawrence can be a force multiplier, but he can’t do it alone.
For now, though, the Bengals still look like a team that can beat anyone when the matchup is right. On a neutral field, or even on the road, Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Dexter Lawrence give Cincinnati a puncher’s chance every time out.
In Other News...
Chase Brown Is Giving The Bengals Something This Offense Needs
The Bengals needed a steady hand out of the backfield in their overtime win over the Titans, and Chase Brown kept giving them exactly that. He was involved as both a runner and a receiver, finishing with eight catches for 46 yards and 12 carries for 55 yards, the kind of workload that shows how much the offense is leaning on him in key moments.
What has made Brown more than just a useful change-of-pace option is the growing trust around him in pass protection, which has become a real factor in how Cincinnati can deploy its offense. With the Bengals looking for stability behind the line and more balance in the backfield, Browns expanded role feels like one of the more important developments to watch as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Dexter Lawrence Is Carrying A Bengals Defense Fans Still Can't Trust
Dexter Lawrence was all over the field in the Bengals overtime win against the Titans, the kind of disruptive night that can tilt a game even when the rest of the defense still feels shaky. He finished with 5 run stops, 2 pressures, a sack, a fumble recovery and 7 total tackles, and he kept drawing double teams while still finding ways to affect the pocket and the run game.
For Cincinnati, the encouraging part is obvious: one of its most important defensive pieces is playing at a high level and showing up in the biggest moments. The frustrating part is just as clear, because the Bengals still have enough issues around him that one standout performance does not erase the larger trust problem on that side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Face Trade Deadline Pressure To Fix Two Key Weaknesses
With the trade deadline approaching, the Bengals are being pushed to look hard at two spots that have drawn attention all season: running back and outside linebacker. Cincinnati has reportedly been weighing roster upgrades, and the conversation has already turned to names that could help balance out the offense and give the defense a little more juice off the edge.
One league observer has pointed to Tampa Bay running back Kenneth Gainwell and Washington edge rusher K'Lavon Chaisson as possible fits, which at least shows the kind of profile Cincinnati may be chasing. Gainwell landed with the Buccaneers on a new deal after leaving Pittsburgh, while Chaisson has flashed pass-rushing ability on a short-term contract in Washington, leaving the Bengals with a familiar deadline question: whether the right move is available now, and how aggressive they want to be in fixing both problems. [Read more 🡒]