Bo Nix could embarrass the Bengals in Week 4 if they're not ready

For as much angst as we had around the Cincinnati Bengals' defense coming into the 2025 season, they have a chance to show a national audience on Monday night football against the Denver Broncos that they are a much-improved defense under the tutelage of new defensive coordinator Al Golden.

That is because they are facing a struggling quarterback in Bo Nix, who is not having the type of season that Broncos fans expected. 

On the other hand, this is also an opportunity for Nix to have a ‘get-right’ game against a struggling Bengals team. And if Denver’s quarterback shows up and shows out against the Bengals as one of the worst quarterbacks in the league through three games, that could be an embarrassing turn of events for the team in general and the defense in particular.

Numbers don’t lie about Bo Nix’s start

Hopes were high for Nix entering his second season in the league. Before the real games began, he even received some praise from Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. However, things have not started well for the young QB in the 2025 season.

Bo Nix is 26th in passing yards and yards per attempt. His 37.8 passing success rate ranks 29th. Jake Browning, in comparison, ranks 20th. 

Nix’s 64.2 completion percentage ranks 19th, but is below the league average of 65.3. For comparison, Browning’s 67.8 ranks 12th in the NFL. And while his interception percentage does not come close to Browning’s league-leading 8.5, Nix still ranks 25th in that metric at 3.2.

Giving up a ton of yards and a high completion percentage versus Nix would not be ideal for Cincinnati's defense.

PFF paints a bleak Bo Nix picture

Not only could he embarrass the Bengals' defense with a brilliant performance, but it would come at the hands of a quarterback who Pro Football Focus grades out as the worst in the NFL through the first three weeks. He ranks 36th among eligible quarterbacks with a 44.6 grade.

We will not argue the virtues, or lack thereof, of PFF's grading system for now. However, many people choose to trust their grades as gospel. Do with that as you please.

However, for reference, Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy ranks 32nd on PFF's grading scale, four spots and 11 points higher than Nix. And before the Bengals played the Vikings this past Sunday, we wondered out loud whether Cincinnati would be better off playing against McCarthy than Carson Wentz. Unfortunately, we get our answer spectacularly.

So, if you are a PFF truther, you should be even more confident about Cincinnati facing Nix than you were with the possibility of them going against McCarthy.

If Al Golden’s unit allows a big game from what PFF grades out to be the worst QB in the NFL, that would not be a good look.

For as much as Denver's defense does not want a repeat of the Tee Higgins game from a year ago, Cincinnati’s defense should be wary of the Bo Nix game, where they pulled off a miraculous comeback to tie the game late in the proceedings.

Bengals’ defense suddenly becomes the season’s lifeline

What no one had on their bingo card heading into this season was that we would have to count on the Bengals’ defense to buoy their offense. Yet, here we are.

The Bengals have stalled on offense this year. The main reason for that, beyond the injury to Joe Burrow, is the poor performance of the offensive line. At this point, it isn't easy to see where the answers will come from on that front.

If the Bengals have any chance against the Broncos, defensive coordinator Al Golden must have his side of the field ready to go.  

Hopefully, Cincinnati's defense will prove PFF correct in showing that Nix is the worst quarterback in the NFL through four weeks, while disproving that the talking heads should consider the defense a bottom-tier unit.

One way to do that would be to force Denver's offense into passing situations and successfully rush Nix with a significant pass rush of their own. However, advanced metrics suggest that getting to the Broncos QB will be significantly more difficult than it will be for their pass rush to get to Jake Browning.

Let’s hope DJ Turner and Jordan Battle can come up with a couple of more interceptions on the national stage of Monday Night Football.

It'd be a mistake for Bengals to sleep on Bo Nix

What cannot happen is that the defense allows Nix and Denver’s offense to have a get-right game. 

We are unsure what is happening in Denver to cause Nix’s season to get off to such a rough start. We do know that he is better than what the counting stats and advanced metrics show.

Last season, Nix was 12th in passing yards, sixth in touchdowns, and 14th in completion percentage. He has demonstrated his capability as a quarterback in this league, leading the Broncos to a 10-7 record last year.

Bengals defense can’t afford an embarrassment

Nevertheless, if the Bengals can hold Nix to what he has been over the first three weeks of the season, they will have a chance in Denver. 

However, if going up against Cincinnati's defense proves to be a get-right game for Nix and Denver's passing attack, that would be embarrassing and demoralizing for a team that is suddenly relying more on its defense than its offense.

And if they get anywhere close to the 34 points that the Minnesota Vikings scored on offense against them, then this season will feel even more lost than it does already.

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