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USATSI

The Bengals defense may have officially hit rock bottom amid a potentially lost season, falling to 3-6 after Sunday's 47-42 loss to the Bears. 

Cincinnati became the first team in at least the last 45 years to take a lead in regulation after trailing by 14-plus points in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter -- and still lose! And they lost in spectacular fashion, surrendering a 58-yard game-winning touchdown from Caleb Williams to rookie Colston Loveland in the final seconds.

The lowlights didn't stop there. Cincinnati allowed 576 total yards, the most by any team in a game this season, and became just the 10th team in NFL history to give up 275-plus passing yards and 275-plus rushing yards in a single contest. Worse, they did it against an inconsistent Bears offense that got big games from Kyle Monangai, Brittain Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus.

It was a nightmare of epic proportions in a string of nightmares. The Bengals also lost 39-38 and blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead against the then-winless Jets a week ago, just days after their owner publicly ridiculed his quarterback for not being able to complete a pass.

The list of historic lows is downright embarrassing:

  • They are the first team in 59 years to lose consecutive games while scoring 38 or more points. The last to do it was the 1966 New York Giants -- back when the NFL had only 15 teams and had yet to crown its first Super Bowl champion.
  • They have allowed 500 total yards in two straight games and three times this season. The rest of the league has done it a combined two times.
  • They are allowing 33.3 points per game this season, the most by any team since those same 1966 Giants.
  • They have allowed at least 27 points and 350 or more total yards in eight straight games, the longest such streak within a single season in NFL history.

That is a convincing case for one of the worst defenses the league has ever seen. And the dumpster fire didn't start this year. Last season, they lost games while scoring 33, 34, 38, 38 and 38 points, finishing with the highest points per game in losses in NFL history (27.8).

These new lows are still stunning, even though we've seen this record on loop. Cincinnati has lost four games in the last two seasons while scoring 38 or more points, matching the total of the rest of the league combined in that span. No other team has done it more than twice over a two-season stretch in NFL history.

Why is this happening?

As stunning as it is, maybe it shouldn't be that surprising. The Bengals' already terrible defense was essentially gutted in the offseason. They fired Lou Anarumo, one of the most respected defensive minds in the league. They had contract disputes with their two most important defensive investments -- Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart -- and lost other key defenders, including Sam Hubbard (retirement) and Germaine Pratt (release). They are also strapped for cash, with nearly half of their cap space tied up in contracts for Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Let go of Lou Anarumo

Lou Anarumo was clearly the fall guy for Cincinnati's defensive downturn in recent seasons, even though the issue largely lies with personnel, among other factors. "The Mad Scientist," as he's known, was not the problem. He has done just fine with an underwhelming Colts defense for a team off to a 7-2 start. New Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden could be the next fall guy, which would be pretty unfair.

Pissed off important investments

It is hard to expect much more from Golden when you consider all the talent the Bengals have either lost or pissed off in recent months. Hendrickson and Stewart both held out in training camp. Bengals owner Mike Brown even said, "We're not paying someone to sit in jail," referring to Stewart and the team's reluctance to offer him a fully guaranteed rookie deal.

The Bengals also saw Hubbard -- their starting edge rusher opposite Trey Hendrickson -- retire. They released Pratt, one of the team's leading tacklers. Anarumo's chess piece, slot corner Mike Hilton, followed him to Indianapolis. More recently, linebacker Logan Wilson requested a trade.

Unable to draft and develop

The fault lies with the front office. This is a team that can't draft and develop on defense, and now it can't spend on that side of the ball.

They are having these results despite using their first two picks on defensive players in three of the last four drafts:

They haven't drafted a stud on defense in a long time despite plenty of swings. They drafted 59 defensive players between 2011 and 2024, and none of them made a Pro Bowl for Cincinnati. It is the longest active drought in the NFL without drafting a defensive player who went on to make a Pro Bowl for the team. The Bengals' last such picks were Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap in 2010.

They have consistently whiffed on draft picks on this side of the ball, especially in the first round. Their last two picks are complete busts to this point. Murphy, their first-round pick in 2023, has 4.5 sacks in 39 career games. His pressure rate has never eclipsed 10% in three seasons, which is already well below league average.

Cincinnati drafted Stewart in the first round this year because he was an NFL Scouting Combine freak who drew comparisons to Myles Garrett -- despite totaling 4.5 sacks in 37 college games. The transition has been rough, as predicted. He had only five pressures in his first four career games entering Week 9, one of the worst rates in the league. It might be too soon to judge him, because he was always going to be a bit of a project.

No money to spend 

So what happens when you can't draft and develop on defense and you can't spend there either? You have one of the worst defenses of all time.

Burrow, Chase and Higgins are the highest-paid offensive trio in the NFL right now, making a combined $124 million in average annual salary. Overall, the Bengals have the most cap space tied up in their offense ($158 million), and they sit near the bottom in defensive spending ($82 million).

Obviously, they needed to pay Burrow and Chase -- they are generational talents. Higgins is a bona fide star, but was paying another offensive player worth the issues it created on defense (and the offensive line)?

What is the solution?

What's the solution? Blow up the front office. I wouldn't fire Zac Taylor, who is an offensive-minded head coach and has a strong history with Joe Burrow. They could fire defensive coordinator Al Golden, and I expect that could be the next move, but he would just be another scapegoat like Anarumo.

All signs point to the front office. And that is where it gets complicated. Bengals owner Mike Brown is also the de facto general manager, similar to Jerry Jones with the Cowboys — meaning he is not going anywhere. Several family members also occupy front-office positions. Most personnel decisions go through director of player personnel Duke Tobin, who is essentially the general manager without the title. He has been in that role since 2002. Cincinnati entered 2025 with the smallest scouting department in the NFL.

It all adds up to a frustrating situation for Bengals fans that is resulting in a wasted season with the generational combination of Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase. Front-office change is desperately needed, but I don't have faith that's going to happen because it's a family business. They should clean house and find scouts who can actually build a defense with draft capital.

The most likely scenario is an unsuccessful fix at defensive coordinator, beefing up the league's smallest scouting department over time and trading Hendrickson at the deadline. That's a bleak outlook -- and about as disheartening as the last two weeks have been for Bengals fans.