3 winners (and 3 losers) from Bengals Week 5 debacle vs. Lions

All the positivity from the Cincinnati Bengals' 2-0 start to the 2025 season officially evaporated on Sunday, as they lost at home to the Detroit Lions to 37-24 to drop their third straight game. Wasn't as close as the final score indicates, either.

Some credit goes to the defense for at least trying to put up a decent fight whilst Zac Taylor's so-called offensive system did its best to attack Detroit. Making matters worse is how badly the Lions were beat up in the secondary. Jake Browning and Co. couldn't capitalize to say the least.

So here we are, trying to dredge up some winners amongst the many losers on the Bengals' side of Sunday's latest lopsided outcome. Shall we begin?

Winner: Andrei Iosivas

I thought our Ivy League prince wasn't for long. Mitchell Tinsley is climbing the depth chart in perpetuity. Iovias was doing very little through the first month of the season. Even thought he was one of three Bengals worth highlighting as the most strugglesome in 2025 (new word).

But to paraphrase an iconic line from Dumb and Dumber, the artist known as "Yoshi" totally redeemed himself! He had three catches for 37 yards on four targets in the first half. Five for 82 for the game! That'll do just fine.

When superstars like Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are out there with you in 11 personnel sets, the least you can do is capitalize on your favorable matchups. Iosivas wasn't doing much of that at all through four weeks. Maybe Browning is to blame most for it. In any event, nice to see signs of life from Andrei.

Loser: Bengals offensive line

How did Joe Burrow lead the NFL in passing yards and passing TDs last year with Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims as his tackles? Never mind the interior o-line, which still can't block worth a nickel to open up lanes for Bengals tailback Chase Brown.

Not that it was a total disaster, but Cincinnati couldn't establish the run well enough early on to keep the Lions honest. Brown still had only 27 yards on eight carries. To be fair, that's up from his season-long average of *shudders* 2.3 yards per tote.

I just feel like this unit of big uglies in the trenches didn't perform well enough till long after it mattered. When the Bengals were down 28-3, to be specific. congrats to quar-ter-back Jake Browning for being the team's leading rusher with a whole 31 yards on four carries!

Winner: Trey Hendrickson

One of the rare bright spots on this late afternoon-early evening game was Trey Hendrickson. You know, the only man on Cincinnati's roster who can generate a meaningful pass rush.

When I saw Joseph Ossai miss a tackle on Sam LaPorta to directly lead to the Lions' opening-possession touchdown, I just laughed. It was a numb sort of feeling. Like of course he can't make a play. Of course anyone on the Bengals' d-line aside from Hendrickson can't do anything.

Makes me laugh even harder that Cincinnati's front office played such hardball with Hendrickson over paying him what he's worth this offseason. He still played on a discount in the end.

Hey Trey, FWIW, you have my permission to excuse yourself from this team. Leave at the trade deadline. Go be with Lou again in Indy. Follow your heart. Love you, bro.

Loser: Jake Browning

This dude. What happened? Starting to get to the point where you can only put so much on the coaching staff (but oh trust me I will, more later).

Browning was a stone-cold stud back in 2023 when he filled in for Burrow. He went 4-3 with a 70.4% completion rate. Showed a lot of poise in the pocket behind a better but still porous offensive line. Excellent touch on intermediate throws. Generally good decision-making.

Maybe he's so in his head that this is the starting opportunity he thought might never come again that he's pressing, or maybe it's a conflation of that and Taylor's scheme going stale. Whatever the case, I was 30% onboard for a QB trade before Week 5. Now I'm closer to 85%.

There appeared to be some momentum on either side of the halftime intermission, as the Bengals drove for a field goal to cut Detroit's lead to 14-3 and got the ball to start. Then, Browning didn't see an underneath defender and gifted the Lions their third INT of the day.

Jake Browning looks awful. No way around it. Not going to defend him anymore. It's beyond bad.

Winner: Ja'Marr Chase

Could this man be any cooler? It's one thing when you're a superstar beyond reproach. it's another thing when your college and NFL QB1 goes down and you publicly take ownership over the team's struggles, vowing to do better, and rally the troops to meet your standard.

Chase talked the talk and walked the walk on Sunday. Couldn't be more thrilled with how he played. The reiginign Triple Crown-winning wide receiver did his part with two TD catches to keep Cincinnati within the range of pseudo-respectability.

Thank you, Uno. Just for you being you. You make this world a brighter place for those of us in Who Dey Nation who are despairing. Sorry we're blowing a full season of your prime. At least you got that fat contract paid to you, though. And you deserve every penny.

A+ for effort, too, to cover for Jake's interception-throwing self.

Loser: Zac Taylor

I love that Taylor hit the podium this week and stumped for Browning. The enthusiasm was infectious. That is, if Browning played well enough, if Taylor schemed well enough, and the Bengals won as a home underdog in Week 5.

That didn't happen. They got the brakes beat off of them once again. Browning looked horrible. Taylor's scheme looked outdated from the modern NFL. Nothing about this is working...

Whether Taylor genuinely believes in Browning or not, us fans have had enough of our new QB1. And maybe we've had enough of Taylor in the head coach's seat.

You gotta think the hot seat is steaming for Taylor in the midst of a third straight defeat. Any prospective head coach would do unspeakable things to coach a healthy Burrow and an offense featuring Chase and Tee Higgins as the primary weapons.

It's to the point where Cincinnati, who likely won't consider an in-season firing of Taylor, should at least start kicking the tires on his replacement down the road. Because this is unacceptable, and the buck stops with the head coach in these situations, fair or not.

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