The Cincinnati Bengals are perhaps the most bipolar team in the NFL, with an often stellar offense, but an absolutely abysmal defense. If you think the Steelers’ time of possession disparity is bad, well, the Bengals are the only team that’s worse. And they have the defense to blame for that, ranking last in yards and points allowed.
The Bengals give up points on defense in very nearly 50 percent of their drives, the worst in the league. It’s why they became the first team in decades to lose consecutive games while scoring 38-plus points. And it’s why the Steelers have a fighting chance this week, it’s that bad.
“I am struggling to think of worse defensive performances than I’ve seen in my 16 years of covering the National Football League”, Aditi Kinkhabwala said on 93.7 The Fan, noting that she covered the Bengals’ past two losses in which they allowed a combined 86 points and nearly 900 yards.
“They can’t tackle! They can’t tackle. They can not tackle”, she continued, with emphasis. “They cannot create any sort of a rush. Literally, I was standing on the sideline, and at one point, I said on my microphone to my producer, ‘I feel like I could tackle better’. And the part of it that really bothers me, truly bothers me, is that Joe Flacco is playing so exceptionally well. I mean, truly”.
Aditi Kinkhabwala is 5-3, and I’m not even sure she would top the scales at 100 pounds. She makes Calvin Austin III look like DK Metcalf. If she can tackle better than the Bengals’ defense, that explains what we’re seeing.
And the thing is, the calls are also coming from inside the house. Read The Athletic beat writer Paul Dehner Jr., who raises the same concerns. “This day should have been a celebration and an injection of hope”, he wrote about Joe Burrow’s return to practice. “While there was some of that, it was met with the reality that if the defense doesn’t summon answers dramatically different than those put forth before the bye, none of this matters”.
Remember, Burrow played every game last season and put up MVP-worthy numbers. The Bengals still finished 9-8 because the defense couldn’t hang, and they missed the playoffs. No team with a generational talent at quarterback playing high-level football should miss the playoffs.
But the Bengals did, because their defense was that bad, and it might be even worse this year. They’ve lacked a pass rush due to Trey Hendrickson’s health and injuries to others, but there are so many things wrong. For eight straight games, they have allowed at least 27 points.
If the Steelers score at least 27 points against the Bengals, Cincinnati’s defense will tie an all-time NFL record for the most consecutive games allowing that many points. The only teams who have allowed more were the 2020 Chargers and the 1964 Broncos, both with nine-game streaks.
How soon can Aditi put the pads on?
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