The Cincinnati Bengals are self-destructing amid a three-game losing streak enough as it is, but when you can't protect an important player to your future, it only makes things worse.
In the midst of a meaningless sequence of plays during the Bengals' 37-24 Week 5 loss to the Detroit Lions, they saw one of their starters and earlier rookie draft picks get injured. Rather than remove him from the field, they continued to stick him out there, pretty much on one leg.
My question is: For who? For what? It's a terrible look for an organization that seems magnetized to such PR aesthetics.
Who let Bengals guard Dylan Fairchild keep playing when he could barely move vs. Lions?
Instead of targeting the front office or ownership with the typical ire of Who Dey Nation, let's focus on the coaching staff and medical team. All due respect to those professionals, who are far more qualified to do their job than I am. I'm just a mildly impoverished writer whose job will be replaced by AI here soon, so what do I know?
I'll tell you what I know. Look at the play below and tell me Bengals left guard Dylan Fairchild has any business being on that field. That Paycor Stadium artificial turf. He gets smoked by blitzing Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes, and gets Cincinnati quarterback Jake Browning lit up for a safety.
Hit that safety dance#DETvsCIN 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/si1BzL5FLw
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 5, 2025
Watch the reverse angle on the replay in that video above. Fairchild tries to move laterally to cut Barnes off. It was a decent move for Barnes to win on, but it's obvious: Fairchild was powerless. Look at how awkward his steps were once Barnes blew past him. Not normal. Not good.
Shout out to Bengals & Brews on X for putting this on my radar, but the left leg injury Fairchild suffered earlier in garbage time versus the Lions looked very bad.
I believe Fairchild played 17 snaps once he got rolled up on and collapsed to the turf in agony. It's some of the ugliest footage you'll ever see of a man trying to block NFL defenders.
Shout out to the University of Georgia product for putting his body on the line and doing all he can to stay on the field. Love the competitive mentality and not giving up even with the game out of hand. At the same time, how do the medical folks and/or Zac Taylor and/or o-line coach Scott Peters not step in and protect Fairchild from himself? It's inexcusable.
Big surprise here, too: Fairchild was spotted on Monday wearing a brace, doubts abound that he could practice on Wednesday or Thursday in advance of Week 6's matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Dylan Fairchild is walking with a noticeable limp and has a brace on his left knee.
— Jaron May (@jaron_may) October 6, 2025
He says it happened during the Lions game and it will be a tough next couple of days. Hopes he’ll be able to practice by Wednesday or Thursday, but will have to see how it progresses.@WLWT
Bruh. The offensive line is a disaster. Losing Fairchild would be such a big blow, not only to the unit for now, but to his rookie-year development.
For a draft class that's looking kind of rough — heard that before about the Bengals in recent seasons? — Fairchild has been a notable bright spot. Not perfect by any means, yet good enough to believe in as a long-term starter.
The Bengals jeopardized Fairchild's longer-term health by keeping him out there against Detroit. Again, he could hardly move. Sounds suboptimal when you have to block dudes trying to lay the thunder on your quarterback and running backs.