Two words that strike fear in the heart of every Bengal fan. Trap. Game. Even at 3-4, they find themselves in this situation, at home against the lowly 0-7 New York Jets, who seem to find new ways to come apart at the seams with each passing week.
Despite this, the Cincy faithful is hoping that they don't overlook the Aaron Glenn-coached squad after coming off an exciting, divisional victory that has reinvigorated the fanbase. But why are they worried about this game? Well, any Cincy fan will tell you, the Bengals tend to keep these types of games closer than they need to be, and sometimes even drop them completely.
The season opener vs. the Patriots in 2024 and the game against the Giants later that year, the Titans in 2023, the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys in 2022, and who could forget the infamous Mike White game in 2021?
Point being, the Bengals never like to make anything easy, for themselves or their fans, and following such an emotional win after a month straight of losing, where they now have a chance to get back to an even record, at home against a team that has had everything possible go wrong for them? There's something dangerous lurking.
The last time these two teams faced off was in Week 3 of 2022, the year after the aforementioned infamous Mike White game, and the Bengals actually handled business on that occasion to secure their first win of the season, 27-12.
You have to go back a little further to find the prior occasion they played each other in Cincinnati, all the way back to 2019. The Bengals were 0-10 going into the game against the 4-7 Jets, and actually left the game with the W, 22-6. Will the winless Jets return the favor this year? Or will the good times continue for Cincy as they get to .500?
Well, if the Jets are going to finally get one in the win column and stun a cautiously optimistic Cincy faithful at Paycor, it'll likely take the effort of these players.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
Jets running backs Breece Hall & Isaiah Davis are major X-factors vs. Bengals
Originally, this was just going to be about Breece Hall, considering he's been pretty solid this season and their best running back. That said, his status for the game is still up in the air as of my writing this, so I decided to expand it to that room as a whole.
Not that the group outside of Hall necessarily strikes fear into opposing fans, no, it's the Bengals' run defense that has been frightening this season. They are bottom-10 in every major category, including fourth-worst in rushing yards and rushing first downs allowed, and tied for seventh-worst in yards per attempt allowed. Woof.
Outside of Week 1, where they did an impressive job holding Dylan Sampson and Jerome Ford to under 50 yards, the Bengals' run defense has given up 110+ rushing yards in their last six matches.
While it's understandable to struggle against the strong one-two punch of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, or get bowled over by one-man wrecking ball Josh Jacobs, it's startling when you let Jordan Mason tear you apart to the tune of 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Especially considering he hasn't even crossed the 70-yard mark in any other game this season.
That's why, even if Hall isn't good to go, the Bengals' defense isn't in the clear; it's been a weak point all season.
Isaiah Davis is RB2 on the depth chart, a second-year player who has scarcely seen the field this season. Davis shouldn't be underestimated, though. He averages a healthy 5.5 yards per carry on 40 totes thus far in his young NFL career.
You also have Khalil Herbert, who Bengals' fans will recognize from his half-year stint with them during the 2024 season. Will the Bengals be able to contain those two? Or will they have a career day against Al Golden's unit? We have our fingers crossed for the former.
Will McDonald IV can make Bengals' quaky pass protection pay
Entering his third year, the former Iowa State Cyclone had big expectations to meet. In McDonald's sophomore season, it seemed like he had finally come into his own as a pass rusher, recording 10.5 sacks and 38 pressures in 2024. So far in 2025, though, the results have been underwhelming, as he has just two sacks on the season through 7 games--and both those sacks came in Week One against the Steelers.
However, it's not entirely his fault, and the stats may be a little misleading, according to Jet X's Michael Nania.
It's easy to look at those numbers and say the former Cyclone has regressed, but some stats indicate otherwise. PFF has given him good marks when you look past his overall grade, including a stellar 85.3 grade in true pass sets, as Nania writes in his article. PFF has also credited him with 15 pressures, which isn't bad for his limited chances to actually get to the QB.
As Nania points out in his article, the reason the numbers are so low is that teams don't really need to pass against them, as the Jets are basically playing catch-up the whole game while their opponents are focused on maintaining their lead, which largely involves establishing the run.
Well, as we know, the Bengals are a much more pass-oriented team than most, so McDonald will have his opportunities to shake things up. Though if Flacco gets it out as quickly as he has since taking the reins, Cincy fans might not even notice McDonald is out there.
Quinnen Williams boasts the dominance to power Jets' upset over Bengals
Will McDonald IV might be a problem, but Quinnen Williams will almost certainly be one. A lot of Bengals' fans already have Williams on their radar, mainly because the Jets are projected to have a fire sale at the deadline and the three-time Pro Bowler is rightfully on many fans' wishlist--including Stripe Hype's own Matt Fitzgerald.
However, if the Bengals do actually make a move for the veteran defensive tackle, it'll probably come after their bout on Sunday. It's almost like an interview. We all know how the front office loves bringing in those who have dominant performances against them. Just look at the Sheldon Rankins signing from the 2024 offseason.
Williams is another case where surface-level stats can be deceiving. With just a single sack on the season, you'd assume that his pass-rushing hasn't been great this year, like it has been in years prior, but that's not the case. PFF gives him 17 pressures on the year and an overall grade of 81.8, which wouldn't be as high as it would if he weren't at least a factor in the Jets' pass rush.
And, according to ESPN, he also ranks top 20 among interior D-Linemen in pass rush win rate, so he could be a handful for Cincy's interior offensive line, especially if rookies Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers have to match up against him.
He has also helped keep the Jets' run defense from being in the toilet tank and instead hovering closer towards the middle of the pack in most major categories, including touchdowns and first downs allowed, as well as opponents' rushing yards per attempt, where NYJ ranks better than you'd expect a winless team to.
Going back to that ESPN article, they also credit Williams with having the 2nd-best run stop win rate among interior defensive linemen at 46%(!), just below Dallas' Solomon Thomas.
This could spell trouble for the Bengals, as a big reason why the offense was able to have it's best day of the season vs. Pittsburgh was because the Chase Brown-led rushing attack was humming along so efficiently throughout the entire game.
By all means, the Bengals should handle business on Sunday, but if they don't, it'll be because of these Jets players.