Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has, by all accounts, had an impeccable season. He leads the NFL in passing yards, is currently tied for first in touchdown passes and ranks third in QBR with 74.3. Unfortunately for him, the team around him has struggled to allow such form to translate into many wins, as they find themselves well off the pace set by Pittsburgh and Baltimore in the AFC North.
It’s hard not to feel sorry for the star receiver Ja’Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson too. Chase has had an incredible season, leading the NFL in touchdown receptions and receiving yards. Hendrickson has done the same for sacks. Despite their efforts, the Bengals have often found themselves on the wrong side of high-scoring games.
The great performances from Burrow, Chase and Hendrickson are part of the reason the team’s losses are so devastating. While it’s never a good feeling to watch a team struggle, it’s at least understandable when players are underperforming, and leadership is lacking.
When you have star players leading the NFL in such key metrics, playing well week in, week out, on the other hand, the losses feel that much more brutal. Especially when you have the team’s offense averaging 254.8 passing yards and putting them at third in the NFL overall, 27.0 points per game (sixth) and 344.5 total yards (12th). With these sorts of figures, it’s hard to explain how the team has a record of 4-6 after 10 games.
Despite this poor performance, however, the season is not yet over. Can the Bengals rebound and bounce back to playoff contention? The road ahead is challenging, but far from impossible. Let’s talk about what the Bengals can do to get back on track.
Improving defense
The most important element of the Bengals’ success (or lack thereof) is defense. The team’s offense is doing just fine, as illustrated above. Its defense, however, is struggling even on the best of nights, allowing an average of 29 points per game. This places them next-to-last in the NFL, ahead of only the Carolina Panthers. Even more distressing, the Bengals’ defense is ranked 30th in points allowed per drive.
One major issue faced by the team’s defense is getting off the field on third down. When your opponents are converting more than half of these, that’s a huge issue. If the Bengals want to improve for the second half of the season and secure a playoff spot, they must focus on improving third-down stops, which would have likely saved the team’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
This becomes even more important when you realize that many of the Bengals’ losses are one-score games. Sometimes, it is only one or two points that takes the other team over the edge. Improved third-down stops could have dramatically changed the first half of the team’s season.
Another issue is the lack of pressure against opposing quarterbacks. Without enough pressure, opposing teams have a much easier time scoring points. This isn’t a new problem for the team. Jordan Battle and Vonn Bell have both been hard at work fixing issues that have existed since at least 2023. Despite their best efforts, the team’s defense simply isn’t up to par.
Watch the action live
Do you want to see the Bengals hone their defense and win more games live? If so, you have a few different options. Of course, you can always watch games in person. This isn’t always practical, however, especially with the weather turning. You can watch via network broadcasting or online sources too. Online sportsbooks and casino operators, often with valuable welcome bonuses, are both options to consider as well. Just make sure that you use a review site like CasinoBonus.com to pick trustworthy providers if you go that route.
With that out of the way, it’s time to prepare for the second half of the season! Let’s see if the defense can turn things around, or if Joe Burrow and the offense can continue to put up huge numbers to win shootouts.
