The 2024 Cincinnati Bengals represented the last shot to get a Super Bowl with the trio of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. Expectations were sky-high out of Training Camp as Burrow finally made it to the regular season seemingly fully healthy. Then, Chase had his hold-in. Higgins missed the first two weeks with a hamstring injury. While the first game against the New England Patriots wasn’t great thanks to a great defensive game plan, the offense looked fine against the Kansas City Chiefs and was legitimately elite again in the Monday Night loss to the Washington Commanders.
No matter how good the offense can be, it seems like it’s going to be let down at every turn by the defense.
It’s Time to Hit the Panic Button on the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals defense is bad.
Historically bad.
Lou Anarumo came to Cincinnati in 2019 with Zac Taylor and, for the first two seasons, it was rough. In 2019, the Bengals had the worst run defense, fourth-worst total defense, and seventh-worst scoring defense. In 2020, they had the fourth-worst run defense, seventh-worst total defense, and 11th-worst scoring defense.
It looked like they got it under control in 2021 and 2022. Burrow has these narratives that he’s carried by his defense thanks to those two seasons. In the playoffs to that Super Bowl loss, those narratives had a little merit.
Last year, the defense took a step back and got worse as the year went on after the D.J. Reader injury. Then, Reader did not re-sign with Cincinnati because he committed the Cardinal Sin of being on the wrong side of 30.
It all came to a head on Primetime against the Commanders.
Jayden Daniels was expected to be a good rookie quarterback. He didn’t win the Heisman Trophy last year for nothing. He looked like LSU Jayden Daniels (and that “basic, college offense“) and the Bengals looked like Florida. Daniels went for 372 yards and three touchdowns through the air and added 234 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in that game.
Bungle in the Jungle
There have been some ugly, ugly, ugly losses in the history of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 38-33 loss to the Commanders may not top the list, but it’s up there.
Burrow and the offense were near unstoppable. The Bengals’ franchise quarterback went 29/38 for 324 yards with three touchdowns. Ja’Marr Chase hauled in six for 118 yards and two incredible touchdowns. Higgins looked like his normal self with three catches for 39 yards and Andrei Iosivas scored yet again with five catches and 52 yards.
The run game was physical and both Chase Brown and Zack Moss made massive impacts. Brown led the way with 62 yards off just seven carries while Moss amassed 52 yards off 12 carries and scored the final touchdown to give the Bengals the slightest chance.
However, the defense was as soft as can be.
Daniels finished the game 21/23 for 253 yards and three touchdowns through the air. He had more passing touchdowns than he did incompletions. To add insult to injury, the woes against mobile quarterbacks continued as he led his team with 39 yards and a touchdown off 12 carries.
Star Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin gashed the secondary with just four catches but went for 100 yards and scored the back-breaker in the fourth quarter.
Statistically, the Commanders hardly stood out. They had a handful of decent days, aside from Daniels and McLaurin.
Despite that, they did not punt. Washington went for it on two fourth downs and converted on both. They converted on five of nine third downs.
The defensive line could not do anything at any point in the game. Trey Hendrickson got a massive sack on first and long in the fourth…and the Commanders went on to convert on fourth down.
Injuries to the defensive tackle room certainly played a part. But that room was healthy in Week 1 and Rhamondre Stevenson tore through them like a hot knife through room-temperature butter.
Who ISN’T Dey?
Do the Bengals have correctable issues? Yes. Does the offense look like it can score on anyone? Yes. Does it matter if the defense allows five touchdowns and a field goal on six drives/ Nope!
Casual fans will look to this game and blame Burrow which is, objectively, incredibly asinine. He could have played better, especially on those field goal drives. But he put the offense in scoring position on all six drives. Evan McPherson missed his first sub-50-yard field goal since 2022 and they could not recoup with a two-point conversion.
In the history of the NFL, since 1920, teams that end the game with zero turnovers, zero punts, and scored at least 33 points were 112-0.
Now, they’re 112-1.
