The Cincinnati Bengals have spent most of Joe Burrow’s career asking him to be nearly perfect. When the defense has struggled, the offense often has little room for error. That could finally change in 2026.
Cincinnati completely rebuilt its defensive front this offseason, adding Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, and Boye Mafe while also drafting Cashius Howell in the second round and Landon Robinson in the seventh round. The result is a unit that looks dramatically different than the one that helped contribute to a 6-11 record a season ago.
Burrow will still have Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and plenty of offensive firepower around him. But the biggest asset to his success this season may be the group that never takes the field with him.
The Cincinnati Bengals no longer need Burrow to be perfect
For several seasons now, the Bengals’ formula has felt like:
Score a lot or lose.
I’m not saying that Burrow had to play perfectly every single Sunday, just that the defensive inconsistency created an extremely small margin for offensive mistakes.
When you have a defense that cannot consistently get stops, an offensive turnover, a stalled red-zone drive, and even a three-and-out becomes more damaging.
Burrow has proven he can win shootouts. The Bengals should be trying to make sure he doesn’t have to.
One defensive stop can be just as valuable to Cincinnati’s offense as another explosive completion. It gives Burrow another possession, improves field position, and reduces the pressure to turn every drive into seven points.
Dexter Lawrence changes the middle of everything
When Cincinnati traded the No. 10 pick overall in this year's draft, there was a fracture among the fan base. Some thought the Bengals gave up too much for Lawrence due to a down year last year, while he seemed to be dealing with an injury. Others thought the Bengals got a steal for one of the league’s best Nose Tackles.
The fact is, Dexter Lawrence is a three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle who has 30.5 career sacks. He can occupy double teams, disrupt inside runs, and make quarterbacks move off their spot.
Lawrence doesn’t have to make every play himself. His value comes from forcing offenses to account for him before the ball is even snapped.
Every third-and-long Lawrence helps create is another opportunity for Cincinnati to get the football back to No.9.
Cincinnati built a defensive line, not just a star
Lawrence gets the headlines, but the depth is what could make this group transformational.
The Bengals also added Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe, while returning players include B.J. Hill, Myles Murphy, Shemar Stewart, and Kris Jenkins Jr., then add in rookies Cashius Howell and Landon Robinson, and you have Cincinnati’s own roster preview, describing the group as one of the NFL’s most dramatically upgraded position rooms.
Now, instead of having one elite pass rusher carrying everything, Cincinnati can now attack offenses in waves. That means the Bengals will have more matchup flexibility, guys will be fresher at the end of games rather than gassed, more creative fronts, and a greater ability to survive injuries.
For the first time in a while, opposing offenses may have to decide which Bengals defensive lineman they’re willing to leave one-on-one.
Better defense creates better offense
Let’s think about the ways the defense can help the offense. A better defensive front can produce:
- More sacks create longer down-and-distance scenarios
- More pressure enhances the opportunities for turnovers
- Better run defense should lead to more third-and-long situations
- More stops gift more possessions to the offense
- Better field position translates to shorter scoring drives
All of that benefits Burrow without changing anything about his own performance.
The easiest way to help a quarterback isn’t always adding another offensive weapon. Sometimes it’s giving him the football more often.
A defense capable of forcing another punt or creating another turnover each week could dramatically change the burden that has been placed on Cincinnati’s offense. Burrow might no longer need five touchdown drives to win a game that should have only required three. Although, between you and me, I wouldn’t mind if he went for five touchdowns every game.
Bengals defensive line will help Burrow on the practice field, too
Iron sharpens iron; this is a term that has been used by many teams this year, almost to excess. However, there isn’t a much better way to explain the way the defense has helped improve the offensive line this year.
Practicing every day against Lawrence, Allen, Mafe, and the rest of this front means that Cincinnati’s offensive line gets a much harder daily test compared to seasons prior.
Lawrence’s presence has already been described as changing the tone around Cincinnati’s defensive line and pushing teammates to improve.
Now, if we extend that logic to the offense, guards and centers are getting elite interior rush work, and Burrow’s pocket clock gets tested. This means that protection communication has to improve, and the young linemen face NFL-quality problems before Sunday.
The Bengals didn’t just improve the defense. They may have made every Tuesday and Wednesday harder for their own offense – and that’s a good thing.
Burrow finally has what he's asked for
After Cincinnati’s defensive overhaul, Burrow has said:
"We have everything we need."Joe Burrow
And he specifically mentioned the presence of Lawrence, Allen, and other defensive additions.
That statement puts responsibility back on Burrow and Zac Taylor, but it also reveals something important: Cincinnati’s quarterback clearly sees what the front office was trying to accomplish.
The Bengals didn’t need another superstar receiver. They needed a defense capable of giving their superstar quarterback room to breathe.
Ja’Marr Chase may still be Burrow’s most dangerous weapon, and Cincinnati’s offensive line will always play a major role in how far this team goes. But no position group has the potential to change Burrow’s job more dramatically than the defensive line.
Lawrence, Allen, Mafe, Howell, and the rest of the revamped front don’t need to dominate every Sunday. They simply need to give Cincinnati something Burrow hasn’t always had: margin for error.
The best thing the Bengals can give Joe Burrow in 2026 might be fewer games that he doesn’t have to win on his own.
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