On paper, one would think that Cincinnati Bengals fans would be optimistic for what the 2025 season has in store. After all, Joe Burrow is returning at quarterback for his sixth NFL season and joining him are Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, both of whom signed long-term deals in the offseason.
This means that the Bengals will have one of the most explosive offenses in the league (if not THE most explosive offense). Well, in The Athletic's recent rankings of NFL fanbases optimism for the 2025 season, Bengals fans' confidence wasn't as high as one might think.
The fan base ranked 22nd on the optimism scale with 60.5% (61% on the official chart in the post) skewing positive while the other 40% of the fan base skewed negative. The one pessimistic fan's take included in the article showed precisely why Bengals fans aren't 100% dreaming Super Bowl this year.
"The defense will continue to struggle in big moments. Even a historically productive offense can't overcome the terrible defense."
Bengals fans aren’t all-in on 2025 and the defense is why
This isn't the least bit surprising. Burrow and the offense showed that they could put up points like nobody's business a season ago but the defense floundered throughout the year and cost them much-needed wins. Had the Bengals won just one more game a season ago, they're in the playoffs and it felt like they'd have been the team everyone was afraid of.
That's not how it played out though. The Bengals entered the final week of the regular season needing help from other teams and that ultimately sealed their playoff fate. The defense is the biggest question mark on the team and it appears that it's enough of a question mark for a chunk of the fan base that it's making them doubt how good this team can be.
The flip side of this storyline is that there's 60% of the fan base that is confident in this team in 2025 and the offense is why that is. The three optimistic comments included all discussed how this offense is going to be humming and one even pointed out that the defense really wasn't that bad.
"Half the defense was injured for the start of the 2024 season and everyone seems to overlook that. Once everyone got back together they ended with a 5-0 run. If the rookies can get it together on what should be a soft start, the Bengals at least make the playoffs."
Which side will end up being correct? Will the defense end up hurting the team this year the way it did in 2024 or will the Bengals be a Super Bowl contender once again?