The Cincinnati Bengals were humbled last week in a loss to the Jets but they were straight-up bullied and embarrassed in Week 9 with a blowout loss at the hands of the in-state rival Browns. It was the first blowout this team had suffered in the 2021 season and the BYE week couldn’t have come at a better time.
With all of that said, let’s check out the winners and losers from the 41-16 defeat. Buckle up.
Loser: Defense
I’m not even going to pick one player and single them out, as everyone minus maybe Sam Hubbard played poorly on Sunday. There was no pass-rushing presence, wide-open coverage in the secondary, and just bad defense all-around.
A few weeks ago, we thought that the Bengals defense was fixed once and for all but we’re seeing now that isn’t the case. They’ve now had two consecutive putrid games and now it’s worth wondering if this unit can get back on track and what they were in that blowout win over Baltimore.
Right now, it feels bleak but there’s a long season to go.