The Cincinnati Bengals have a lot of matchup problems to negotiate in Week 12's game against the New England Patriots, but the stiffest test for the hosting Bengals could be the Pats' most seasoned, accomplished pass-catcher.
Having just lost cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt to a season-ending foot injury, Cincinnati will have to reshuffle its already-suspect defensive backfield. CTB has probably played his final snap as a Bengal, so this is a problem that'll linger beyond the impending duel versus New England.
In a twisted sort of way, if the Pats do expose how vulnerable the Bengals are at cornerback, it could trigger them to prioritize the position earlier in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Versatility of Patriots WR Stefon Diggs will test Bengals' thin secondary
It's no coincidence that the Bengals' typical slot cornerback Dax Hill had his best game of the season when he flexed out to the boundary. Cincinnati had to adjust to more three-linebackers sets with Pittsburgh's bigger offensive personnel last Sunday, and Hill flourished on the perimeter.
That won't be the case so much against New England in Week 12. My hope is that the Bengals promote either Jalen Davis or Bralyn Lux from the practice squad.
Then again, when you're facing a stud like Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs, it's hard to deal with him no matter what. Never mind pressing a potential rookie like Lux or a still-green player like Davis into duty, trying to mark him up from the slot.
Hill's positional versailtiy should at least give the Bengals some flexibility to try to fool young Patriots quarterback Drake Maye with some exotic coverages. Then again, it might not matter if TreVeyon Henderson is running amok on Cincinnati's mostly hapless, Trey Hendrickson-less front seven.
Diggs splits his time pretty evenly between splitting out wide (210 snaps) and aligning in the slot (190 snaps). He's PFF's ninth highest-graded receiver this season. Quite a turnaround in the perception around him after his unceremonious exit from Buffalo, who by the way, looks like they could use a wide receiver like Diggs in the fold! That preceded a brief run in Houston that ended with a torn ACL.
On the plays where Bengals lockdown cornerback DJ Turner can't line up across from Diggs, Cincinnati could very well be in trouble when Maye targets his go-to guy. Basically any defense has struggled trying to shut down that combo.
How good has Stefon Diggs been? He's producing like a number 1.
— ZeeBee (@BellinoZee) November 22, 2025
🔸Top 5 in EPA/play
🔸Top 10 in YPRR pic.twitter.com/qlPw7iuUE2
Long story short, Stefon Diggs still got it, ranking 10th in the NFL in receptions with 59 and 17th with 659 receiving yards. He just lit up the Jets for nine catches on 11 targets for 105 yards.
Too bad the Bengals have so few answers, or much in the way of safety help from the likes of free-agent bust Geno Stone, to attempt to stymie Diggs. Sunday could indeed be ugly, especially now that Joe Burrow is ruled out.