It was never going to last forever. Despite what the most ardent Cincinnati fan told you after Week 2, the Bengals were never going to go 17-0 this season. With how brutal the first four weeks of the schedule looked, finishing with two wins out of the first four was a blessing.
The 30-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was brutal, but it was not outside the realm of possibilities. Pittsburgh is always a tough opponent no matter the circumstances. What's infuriating, though, is how the Bengals lost to their age-old rival.
The Steelers did not beat the Bengals. The Bengals beat the Bengals, and this wasn't the first time it happened.
A concerning trend
The Bengals last season were one of the least penalized teams in the NFL last season. They finished second-to-last in 2025 with 88 penalties for 633 yards. This has been a consistent trend over the last few years for the team: 25th in 2024 with 101 flags and 31st in 2023 with 76 penalties. After a few years of struggling on this department, it seemed like this was the one thing that Cincinnati was excelling at.
Through the first three weeks of the season, though, we're seeing the Bengals revert back to their discipline issues. They were already up to 19 penalties after two weeks, the bulk of which came in Week 2 against Houston. In Houston, Cincinnati committed 12 penalties for 78 yards. It wasn't just one unit committing all of the mishaps: the offense (5 for 30 yards), defense (5 for 33) and special teams (2 for 15) all committed penalties.
The Bengals were lucky to be bailed out despite their penalty issues. Still, those lapses stood out in what was a generally complete game on paper. We hoped to see less of these penalties in a divisional game against an age-old rival.
That… didn't happen. The Bengals committed six penalties for 40 yards in the game. The frustrating part was that most of the penalties were not bang-bang calls like pass interference or roughing the passer: they were procedural penalties. False starts and an illegal formation plagued Cincinnati all game long. The Bengals are a younger team than years past, but it's still a big glaring weakness that could prove to be problematic down the line.
A very special (teams) mess
Note that we said most of the penalties were not procedural, not all. That's because the most impactful play of the night came on a penalty… on the special teams, of all places.
The Bengals’ special teams unit is good, solid even. They have one of the best kickers in the league and a solid punter. However, this game against the Steelers was rough for the gunners and the return men of Cincinnati. In fact, the Bengals’ ST unit all but gave the Steelers ten easy points.
In the third quarter, the Bengals’ defense roared to life. After a field goal in the first drive of the half, Cincinnati forced a punt out of the surging Steelers. All was well and good… until Cedric Johnson made the worst mistake a player on the return team can make: hitting the punter.
It was an easy roughing the punter call for the Steelers, who used that momentum to finish off their first drive of the half with a touchdown. A brutal mistake led to a seven-point swing early in the game.
And then, another disaster for the Bengals. After forcing another punt at midfield, Cincinnati had a chance to extend their three-point lead. However, Ke’Shawn Williams muffed the punt, allowing the Steelers to recover the ball deep in Cincinnati territory. The Bengals’ defense held strong and forced a field goal, but it was another three points spotted for Pittsburgh.
Joe Burrow had a chance to win the game, yes. He squandered that opportunity by trying (and failing) to play hero-ball. But Cincinnati's sloppiness made the already gargantuan task of beating the Steelers even harder. These mistakes need to be cleaned up ASAP, or their season might end much earlier than they expected.
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