The Cincinnati Bengals have their home opener of the 2025 NFL season this Sunday when they face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags showed themselves to be a team to contend with this season in their Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers. They proved to have several players who could wreck Cincinnati's game plan.
Travis Etienne, Foyesade Olukun, Jourdan Lewis, and Cam Little are players the Bengals must be acutely aware of. Yes, that’s right. Even the kicker, Little, should be considered a threat after the Bengals won thanks to, in part, the woeful efforts of Cleveland’s kicker Andre Szmyt.
But the most prominent way to wreck a Bengals Sunday is the same as it has been for, unfortunately, several years. And that is by getting to quarterback Joe Burrow. And, the one opponent who could wreck the Bengals in Week 2, and the team must be most concerned about, is Josh Hines-Allen.
Hines-Allen’s Week 1 dominance puts Bengals on notice
After one week, Josh Hines-Allen shares the league lead in pressures with eight. He has the lead after a game in which he dominated against the Carolina Panthers’ left tackle Yosh Nijman.
Josh Hines-Allen is tied for 2nd in the NFL in pressures (8), per NGS.#Jaguars top superstar was on one vs. Panthers LT Yosh Nijman. pic.twitter.com/PWGJeUAcrO
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) September 9, 2025
Even when he did not sack the quarterback, Bryce Young, Hines-Allen caused enough havoc to disrupt Carolina's passing offense.
Hines-Allen’s play looks a lot like how we expect first-round pick Shemar Stewart to look. Even when he does not get a sack on opposing quarterbacks, he must be disruptive enough to cause chaos within the opponent's offense.
Luckily, for Cincinnati and quarterback Joe Burrow, the breakout edge rusher will face Orlando Brown, who should be far better than Nijman.
Week 1 struggles raise Week 2 concerns
Cleveland got to the Bengals quarterback for three sacks and seven QB hits. And, as Bengals fans are all too accustomed to, some of those hits were of a devastating, ‘decleating’ variety.
Wait for Myles Garrett 😳 pic.twitter.com/d6dzrcepw6
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
According to ESPN, Hines-Allen had the sixth-highest pass-rush win rate among edge rushers in Week 1. He tied with Trey Hendrickson in that category.
Number two, with a 42% pass-rush win rate, was Cleveland’s Isaiah McGuire. Myles Garrett finished with two sacks and three QB hits. McGuire, for his part, finished with one sack and two quarterback hits against Cincy.
If the Bengals’ offensive line and Jacksonville’s defensive line have similar outputs to the ones they had in Week 1, Hines-Allen could be a thorn in the Bengals’ side all afternoon on Sunday.
The pressure that Hines-Allen can cause will enable others, such as Oluokun, Dawuane Smoot, and the Jacksonville secondary, to thrive.
Bengals’ protection must improve in Week 2
No matter how much fans of the Bengals want to say that the offensive line is much improved or that this will be the best pass protection Burrow has had since entering the league, it must play out that way on the field. Unfortunately, that was not the case in Week 1 versus the Browns.
While Hines-Allen was near the top of the league in pass rush win rate on Sunday, unfortunately, Cincinnati's tackles and guards were not in the top 20 of ESPN's pass block win rates.
When it comes to protecting Joe Burrow on Sunday, the Bengals must be better in every facet of pass protection. The linemen must do a better job of winning their one-on-one matchups. The scheme must account for stunts, twists, and looping defenders to avoid free rushers up the middle of the offensive line.
If the Bengals want to avoid getting Burrow hit at the rate he was in week one, they must account for the disruptive edge rusher that is Hines-Allen at all times to achieve this aim. If they fail in this endeavor, Hines-Allen could be the difference between whether the fans go home happy in orange or, like FC Cincinnati, blue in orange.