It is time for an autopsy.
If you are waiting for the Cincinnati Bengals defense to suddenly click into gear, I have bad news.
This is not a slump. This is structural collapse. Cumulative failure.
The numbers are damning. The Cincy defense is dead last in the NFL with 407.9 yards allowed per game, 151.9 rushing yards allowed and 31.6 points conceded.
They also ‘lead’ the league with 84 missed tackles, lie 28th in sacks and sit 29th in quarterback hits.
Now, after conceding 39 points and 502 yards to the previously winless New York Jets on Sunday, I felt the need to crack open this disaster of a unit and see what may be rotting inside.
Pass me the scalpel…
Throwing draft darts
Every solid defense relies on smart drafting. The Cincinnati Bengals have certainly tried, using 10 Top-100 picks on defensive players since 2022, and yet the unit is somehow worse.
Recent first-rounders – Myles Murphy in 2023 and Shemar Stewart this year – have delivered precisely nothing.
Acquiring an endless stream of defensive linemen unable to make sacks or generate pressure requires a special kind of talent. One like Director of Personnel Duke Tobin, perhaps.
The Bengals’ philosophy seems to be to draft ‘high character guys’ or ‘projects’ who might develop into something useful down the line. That might be fine if they had enough experienced leaders to hold the fort until they develop. Alas, they do not.
The result? A young defense that misses reads, blows assignments and tackles like they want to hug their opponent rather than bring them down.
Free agency: The sound of silence
Even with obvious holes in the roster, the Bengals have treated free agency like an optional extra rather than an essential tool for team-building.
I get that they have spent a lot on the offense. The likes of Burrow, Chase and Higgins do not come cheap so I am not expecting Myles Garrett or Maxx Crosby to walk in the door. But there has been almost no new defensive talent at all, despite the number of gaps to plug.
We needed better safety play. Solution? Re-sign Geno Stone and Jordan Battle.
We needed stability at linebacker. Solution? Let Germaine Pratt and Akeem Davis-Gaither walk and replace them with rookies.
We desperately needed interior pressure. Solution? Do absolutely sod all.
Without the veterans who have been there and done that, the defense is largely populated by kids flailing about, hoping someone else knows what they are doing.
No wonder Zac Taylor is using his press conferences to practically beg someone, anyone, to step up and take charge.
So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, goodbye
Jessie Bates, Sam Hubbard, Vonn Bell and D.J. Reader were solid foundations of the defense.
Of course, good players leave, get traded, retire. It happens. But you should not let them walk without some semblance of a succession plan in place.
Well, Cincinnati have and their defense is now thinner, less experienced and more vulnerable than a newborn gazelle on the Serengeti.
And not everyone who remains seems happy. Trey Hendrickson wanted out and probably still does. Logan Wilson requested a trade a few days ago. Even second-year defensive tackle McKinley Jackson asked to be released or traded yesterday.
Everyone is looking for the exit.
A masterclass in how not to coach
You might think that good coaching could paper over some of these cracks. Maybe not fix everything, but at least stop the bleeding. Apparently not.
Last year, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo got the boot for his defense sabotaging the offense’s record year. So in comes Al Golden from Notre Dame, handpicked by Taylor for his supposed ability to develop young talent.
But to date, there is zero evidence of this transformation taking place. In fact, things are arguably worse now, which is genuinely impressive – in a bad way.
The players cannot even seem to do the basics. Week after week, even when the team wins, it is the same story. Slow reads. Hesitation. Uncertainty. Players looking hopelessly outmatched.
After the Week 8 meltdown against the Jets, Golden admitted that missed tackles and lack of a pass rush were “key issues”. Cheers for that, Al. Cracking work.
What is the solution?
The Cincinnati Bengals are clearly built around an elite offense. And sure, an offense can hide a multitude of defensive sins for a while.
But not forever; not when the defense is this awful. Even if the offense scores 38, it will not always be enough, as Sunday proved.
The only way out of this mess is a complete overhaul of the front office’s approach to building the defense. Not tinkering, not lip service, but a wholesale rethink of how they construct the roster and who they trust as coaches.
Unfortunately, there is no short-term fix. This will take time. But regardless, the change needs to start soon. Now.
Otherwise, the Bengals’ competitive window will slam shut faster than you can say “wasted generational talent at quarterback”.
The verdict
It is safe to say that the Cincinnati Bengals defense is not having a rough patch. This is not bad luck or a few injuries derailing an otherwise solid unit.
This feels like systemic failure on every level. Poor drafting and player evaluation. Over-reliance on raw rookies. Minimal investment in proven free agents. Star players not being replaced. Questionable coaching. Abysmal execution. Quite the cocktail of ineptitude.
Until some, if not all, of these issues are addressed properly, the defense will continue to fail and the entire team, as well as the fans, will bear the cost.
Come the end of the season, maybe some of the coaching staff will pay the price too.
