The Cincinnati Bengals are a phenomenal football team, or so it seems through two weeks of the new season. Fans should be able to say that with more conviction than last year's 2-0 start after the Bengals blew out the Houston Texans 20-6 in Week 2, but there are still some lingering red flags.
But we're not here to focus on all the negatives. Why be all doom and gloom after such an auspicious beginning to the 2026 campaign?
Shoot, the first subject on our so-called Bengals trust index entering Week 3's trip to Pittsburgh is someone Joe Burrow has already redeemed and defended to some degree.
Brown should be on the hot seat after abysmal performance vs. Texans
In his press conference earlier this week, Joe Burrow came to Orlando Brown Jr.'s defense regarding the three first-half sacks he allowed versus the Texans:
"There were a couple sacks that weren’t in his control at the end of the day, there are a lot of different things that go into pass protection that aren’t just on the offensive line, and that’s what you don’t see in the media. There are very intricate details of pass protection, and a guy expecting help here, a guy expecting help from a different spot, and a lot of different things that go into it that we would never explain to you guys, and then it’s left up to interpretation."
I don't know, man. It sure looked like OBJ was put on an island against Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter a select number of times, and got absolutely worked on most occasions.
Burrow always goes to bat for his guys. It's in his nature. Maybe Brown was expecting help. He should expect help, because that's just smart football when you're facing that Anderson-Hunter duo. Those studs allows the Texans to run pretty much vanilla schemes and dare you to beat them.
But uhh...doesn't get much easier for Brown against the Steelers in Week 3 against the likes of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Pittsburgh is actually showing marked improvement on defense in the early going this year. That said, the nostalgia bait coach-QB combo of Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy makes Cincinnati a more than worthy road favorite.
Allen is quickly rising as a new Bengals fan favorite
Good lord, Jonathan Allen. Two sacks thus far and probably more on the way if he can stay healthy. Allen got some veteran rest days this week in practice but also popped up with a knee issue on the injury report.
No problem, though, because Zac Taylor confirmed on Friday that Allen is ready to roll in the Steel City.
When Allen signed a two-year, $25 million contract in free agency, I was just happy the Bengals did something to address the defensive tackle position. Once the Bengals traded for Dexter Lawrence, I got even more excited about the Allen acquisition.
Sexy Dexy has indeed become a force multiplier for the entire rest of the defensive line. As I've predicted from the start, despite what the moronic national media would have you believe.
Skeptics of Allen would look at the surface level and say, "Well he got released one year into a three-year deal with the Vikings! He's washed!" But as Allen explained in an interview with Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson this week, he's a far better scheme fit in Cincinnati — and yeah, that matters:
"It was one of those things [in Minnesota] where you had to play your role. [...] The thing about our defense is, man, since they let us go so much, play free, that when we do drop, and we do blitz, it's very impactful. It's very impactful...I love it. I'm a big fan of letting the D-line go. Now that puts a lot of onus and pressure on us. Four-man rush, the coaches are trusting us to get there. We've been getting there. So it's been fun. It's been really fun."
As long as Lawrence is in the lineup and commanding a staggering rate of double teams (nearly 80% through Week 2!), Allen will continue to feast on favorable matchups and harass opposing quarterbacks.
Barrett Carter is improving, but isn't off the hook yet
In the article linked in the lede, I mentioned Barrett Carter among the losers from Week 2. He was on full Shaqtus barbecue chicken alert against the Texans in pass coverage, yielding five receptions for 84 yards on six targets, plus a holding penalty.
That said, Carter is night and day better than he was a season ago. Same goes for fellow second-year linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr., who I trust more than Carter at this point since he's more versatile, athletic, and superior in coverage.
Carter is still the green dot linebacker. I don't suspect Swayze Bozeman will challenge him for the starting gig, even if I'd like him to. Still, I harbor healthy doubt levels about Carter entering Week 3.
I've said words to this effect before, but on one hand, the Bengals are so good on the rest of their defense that it doesn't matter if their linebackers are pedestrian. On the other hand, imagine if they had acquired someone really good to supplant Carter in the starting lineup. Say, Bobby Wagner, or a trade for Jordyn Brooks.
I don't know, y'all. Just trying to be relentless in spirit about maximizing this roster and Super Bowl window, which is finally open because the Bengals finally refused to settle for mediocrity.
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