The [Cincinnati Bengals](https://www.cincyjungle.com/) continue to limp their way through OTAs without their only productive pass rusher from the 2024 team nor their first-round pick. The team is coming off a season of defensive collapse that held one of the league most effective offenses, which featured an MVP-caliber quarterback and a Triple Crown wide receiver, out of the playoffs.
However, it’s hard to be overly pessimistic with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins locked up for the foreseeable future. ESPN’s Seth Walder mostly agreed by answering the question, “Will the Bengals return to the playoffs?” with an answer of “[Probably](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45272576/nfl-football-power-index-2025-season-projections-super-bowl-chances-playoff-draft#bengals).”
“The Ravens are by far the most likely AFC North champion at 54%, and the Bengals are next at 29%,” he wrote. “But Cincinnati has a 60% chance to reach the playoffs. That makes it the fourth-most-likely playoff team in the AFC after missing the postseason the past two seasons.”
Lou Anarumo was fired shortly after the end of the Bengals’ 2024 season, and Al Golden was brought in to take over. The front office was able to bring back a handful of players, signed a few outside players, and added a couple of draft picks as well, but most would say they haven’t done enough.
Walder argues, however, that the “model forecasts the Bengals to have an average defense, which moves them to the No. 7 in the overall rankings.”
An “average” defense would likely be enough to get a Burrow-led offense to the postseason, as long as that offense stayed relatively healthy, but I would like to think they have aspirations greater than “get to the playoffs.” A team with the weapons the Bengals have on offense, especially one with a franchise quarterback, should be pushing to do whatever it can to go into the playoffs with the No. 1 seed, not by settling for a wildcard spot.
Hopefully, the average is the defense’s floor and not its ceiling.
So far, it’s not looking great.