The Cincinnati Bengals defense has been solid all season and carried them to victory in Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens. On Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the Bengals defense had its worst game of the year in a loss versus the New York Jets. Quarterback Mike White had a historic day passing, throwing for 405 yards, three touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 107.9. This is an especially frustrating loss for Cincinnati who just played their best game defensively against Lamar Jackson. The defensive side of the ball looked especially flat, uninspired, and uninterested in tackling all day long. The Bengals are still a young team that’s learning to win. This game was an important reminder that you have to bring it every week in the NFL to earn victories.
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Cincinnati Bengals Defense Sputters in Loss Against New York Jets
The biggest issue yesterday for the Bengals defense was the missed tackles throughout the entire game. This has been a strong suit of the team thus far defensively. Yesterday, they missed 15 tackles against an offense that has struggled to score points all season.
The #Bengals missed 15 tackles against the Jets yesterday, led by Logan Wilson with 3.
That was their season-high for missed tackles and the most in the #NFL for Week Eight.
They now rank 22nd in PFF’s tackling grades (52.5) and frankly it’s a major disappointment. pic.twitter.com/0k2AX7HzYK
— Willie Lutz (@willie_lutz) November 1, 2021
The Bengals linebackers of Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt, and Akeem Davis-Gaither left the middle of the field unoccupied for a majority of the game. When they did get there, they often missed an opportunity to make a play and got crushed with huge yards after the catch from the Jets wide receivers and running backs. Jets running back Michael Carter had a breakout game with 77 yards, one touchdown, and also helped with controlling the clock.
Mike White Torches Bengals
Jets quarterback Mike White started in place of an injured Zach Wilson and he had a performance to remember.
Making his first career start, Jets QB Mike White completed 37-of-45 passes for 405 yards with 3 TD.
His 37 completions are the most by any player in his first career start in NFL history.
Have a day.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 1, 2021
White did have two interceptions but he was patient all day and continuously took what the Bengals gave him. The bulk of White’s passes were five yards or less but he was efficient when he needed to be to guide the Jets to their second win of the season. Of major concern, was the Bengals seemed to make zero adjustments to combat the Jets playcalling to get the offense out of rhythm. Cincinnati needs to take a long hard look at itself in the mirror defensively. The Bengals have to quickly correct their mistakes this week for a huge divisional matchup with the Cleveland Browns.
Stick Together
The Bengals are a tight-knit and closely connected team this year. They have bounced back well every week following a loss. After the game, team captains of Joe Mixon, Jesse Bates, and Tyler Boyd held a rare press conference together. Mixon stated, “Trying to take a second to really gather my thoughts because I’m trying to speak for everybody, we’re together. We know what to expect next week. We know we have to play better, we have to be better and we have to do it. We’re going to make it happen and we’re going to do it with a vengeance.” This is exactly what you want to hear from the leaders of your team following a very difficult loss. All the goals the Bengals had at the beginning of the season are still right in front of them. With a win against the Browns this Sunday, they move to 3-0 in the division and 6-3 heading into their bye. It’s time to turn one loss against the Jets into a mere footnote on the season.
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