The Cincinnati Bengals are on a winning streak, winning their past three matches and climbing into second place in the AFC North.
However, it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows for the men in stripes, especially on defense, as another type of streak is unfortunately forming.
Despite a successful off-season effort to ameliorate defensive coordinator Al Golden's personnel, the unit remains less than ideal in some areas.
One area in particular has the upcoming opposing quarterback undoubtedly looking forward to throwing the ball incessantly against Cincinnati's leaky pass defense after his inauspicious Week 8.
Bengals D handing out career games just in time for Halloween
Unfortunately, no one told Al Golden that Halloween was on Saturday, not Sunday, as his defense gave up another career-best game to guys dressed up as NFL quarterbacks in consecutive weeks.
Against the Baltimore Ravens last week, Golden’s defensive unit allowed quarterback Tyler Huntley to have the best passing output of his career. Snoop, as he is affectionately known, threw 34 passes, completing 23 of them for 298 yards and one touchdown, albeit in a losing effort.
This past Sunday, Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward threw for a career-best 304 yards. He had only gone above 200 yards once this year, against Cincinnati's divisional foe, the Baltimore Ravens.
In that game, Ward threw for 222 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Ward’s previous career high in passing yards came last year against the Arizona Cardinals when he threw for 265 yards. That, along with his games against the Bengals and Ravens, came in a loss.
Between practice, obligatory meetings with the press, and traveling almost 8 hours to this side of the pond to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid, hopefully, Golden will have time to cook up something new.
And whatever the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator puts on the menu must be easily digestible for the players before hitting the field against another QB excited for the opportunity to hit career marks himself.
Penix, Falcons looking for bounce-back in Mardid
Michael Penix and the Atlanta Falcons are up next for the Cincinnati Bengals' defense. The Falcons will be eager to prove that their zero points against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't reflect how good they are.
Michael Penix has thrown for more than 300 yards twice in his career. He first did so back in 2024, his rookie season, when he threw for 312 yards in Week 17 against the Carolina Panthers.
Last year, Penix passed for 313 yards against the Washington Commanders in Week 4.
The Falcons quarterback has yet to throw for more than 256 yards this season since coming back from injury and taking over the starting role in Week 3.
Penix will be looking to rebound after an 8-for-24, 125 yards, and four-interception debacle. He and the Falcons could go hunting for Cincinnati’s secondary, which has given up career-best games to opposing quarterbacks, like Huntrix looking for Demons, who have made off like bandits on back-to-back houses while trick-or-treating.
Bijan Robinson a 2-way threat that Bengals must contend with
While the Bengals are leaving 3-ways back in Cincinnati, the Falcons are bringing a 2-way threat that will further challenge the Bengals' pass defense.
The good news for the Bengals' pass defense is that Penix may not have to throw the ball very much, as the Falcons have what should be considered the best running back in the NFL, Bijan Robinson.
Bad news, of course, is that the Falcons have what should be considered the best running back in the NFL, Bijan Robinson, who is a threat on the ground and through the air, already having an eight-catch, 90-receiving-yard game earlier this season.
Robinson could be a headache for the Bengals’ defense as a pass catcher in the middle of the field, where Cincinnati has consistently struggled to slow opposing pass catchers.
The star running back is second on the team in receptions behind receiver Drake London. Robinson is third in receiving yards for Atlanta behind London and Jahan Dotson.
Further nightmare for Cincinnati’s secondary
The Bengals lost their best secondary player when cornerback DJ Turner left the game against the Titans with an injury.
Because Turner was declared out so quickly, we should not expect him to be in a position to contribute on Sunday against Atlanta. And even if he miraculously plays, he will not be at 100%, leaving the secondary in an even more precarious position than it has been over the previous two weeks.
If we find out later this week that Turner will miss significant time, we hope the Bengals’ front office will ignore calls to trade for a running back and focus on the defense in general, and the secondary in particular.
Bengals' DC must be Golden against Penix, Falcons offense
Either way, Penix and the Falcons will see the Bengals down one starting corner and allowing two career-best performances over the past two weeks as reasons to look at Cincinnati as a rebound from a lackluster passing day and a possible jump-off point for a reinvigorated passing attack.
Hopefully, Al Golden and the rest of the defensive staff recognize this and act accordingly, with a game plan that takes advantage of their healthy players while minimizing the loss of some of those who probably want to see the field defense in Spain, thereby ending the streak of allowing career-best games to opposing QBs at two.
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