The Cincinnati Bengals are two horrendous special teams gaffes in Week 3 and a Joe Burrow red zone interception in Week 4 away from being 5-0. That's a tough pill to swallow, but some of the early losses should trigger the Bengals to be especially critical when they self-scout during their bye.
Although Sunday's 31-24 win over the Dolphins in Miami was rather convincing and not as close as the scoreboard suggests, it was not a great team effort. Cincinnati did not look like a worthy Super Bowl contender at all.
As great as free-agent additions Dexter Lawrence and Jonathan Allen have been at defensive tackle, there's still one awful Bengals flaw flaw they can't totally cover for.
Cincinnati's run defense is still a major red flag entering Week 6 bye
Prior to Sunday's game, I made a lot of how bad the Bengals were running the football and stopping the run. Those are clichés for a reason. Championship teams often do both those things well.
Thanks to Samaje Perine's hard-nosed running between the tackles, Cincinnati was able to run well enough on in Week 5 against the Dolphins' stout front seven. It also helped that All-Pro linebacker Jordyn Brooks was gutting it out through a foot injury that sidelined him for a spell, but I digress.
The bigger takeaway is the fact that the Bengals, who entered Miami averaging 4.5 yards allowed per carry, yielded 217 rushing yards on 34 attempts.
Even if you take out Malik Washington's 18-yard dash on a toss-crack play, Chris Bell's 26-yard run on an end around, and Malik Willis' 39-yard scramble, Ollie Gordon II still had 88 yards on 18 carries. Gordon was at 4.9 yards per tote; Miami was at 6.4 as a team.
That's really bad especially when you consider how awful Willis was throwing the ball. He gift-wrapped two interceptions to Jordan Battle. I couldn't believe Willis didn't just decisively scramble more often. It's not like he has a bunch of world beaters at wide receiver, and even when they are open, Willis seems reluctant to pull the trigger until it's too late.
Anyway, there's a lot of feast or famine. The Bengals can dictate terms on any given series with an early decisive run stop, yet their consistency just isn't there. They're now giving up an even five yards per carry on the season.
The Bengals defense still leads the league in Stuffed Run percentage on Defense at 30%
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) October 12, 2026
The second-best team is this Falcons defense you're watching tonight at 26.1%
The Bengals have now allowed the most explosive runs (12+) in the NFL this year with 16 explosives on the ground for 319 yards.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) October 12, 2026
Rank 16th in overall efficiency, but too many turning explosive at the second level is a PROBLEM.
In other words, when Lawrence, Allen, or Boye Mafe aren't causing immediate disruption, the back seven of the Bengals defense isn't stepping up to make plays.
The defensive end position outside of Mafe looks like something of a weakness. The defensive tackle depth behind Lawrence and Allen leaves something to be desired, too.
We'll see if that triggers a trade deadline move. I doubt it. But defensive coordinator Al Golden needs to get in the lab during the bye and figure out how this team can fit the run better. It's just not good enough so far.
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