Going into the 2024-25 National Football League (NFL) season, the Cincinnati Bengals were projected by many to be atop the AFC North, and certainly make the playoffs.
All of this hope was abruptly put on pause after a horrible week one loss to the New England Patriots. This loss was the start of a very up and down season that saw some amazing personal performances, but also team performances that left fans in pure heartbreak. After the week 13 loss to the Steelers, the Bengals fell to 4-8, and all hope seemed lost. But this loss sparked a winning streak, where the team won the remaining five games, and ended the season 9-8.
This perfect finish would end up not being enough to make the playoffs, and it left the football world shocked as the Bengals have now missed playoffs in back to back seasons.
When people look at the Bengals key players’ performances this year, they would see the NFL’s 2024 Comeback Player of the Year quarterback Joe Burrow’s near perfect season where he was the league leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns. They would see the league leader in sacks, defensive end Trey Hendrickson tied his career high with 17.5. To top it off they would see wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase’s triple crown winning stats that saw him catch 127 passes and go for over 1,700 yards. So what could have possibly gone wrong?
Many of the losses can be attributed to poor defensive play. Seven of the eight losses came by just one score, with three being only separated by a field goal or less. To go along with this, the Bengals four losses when scoring more than 33 points set an NFL record for most in a season.
Outside of defensive end Trey Hendrickson, the Bengals struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, which exposed their poor secondary defenders. Hendrickson’s 17.5 sacks were good enough for first in the NFL, but the Bengals combined team sacks of just 36 put them at 25 out of 32 teams according to Best Version Media (BVM) Sports.
Having no true leader in the secondary definitely hurt the Bengals as they allowed 223.5 passing yards per game according to ESPN, which put them bottom half in the league. On top of this, they were 25th in the league in total yards allowed per game at 348 yards.
As a result of this poor play, Head Coach Zach Taylor fired Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo after spending the past six years in that position. The team has now hired former Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator Al Golden, who was a key part of Notre Dame’s run to the national title game this past season. Golden was the linebackers coach for the Bengals coaching staff in 2021, when they made it to their first Super Bowl since 1989.
Golden will inherit a solid young core in the secondary that includes players like DJ Turner, Dax Hill, Jordan Battle, and Josh Newton, all of whom are 24-years-old. The Bengals also have cornerback Cam Taylor Britt, and safety Geno Stone under contract, who both underperformed this past season in comparison to their pre-season predictions.
The Bengals can definitely use another player on the defensive line to compliment Trey Hendrickson. Long time Bengal Sam Hubbard had a down year, only recording two sacks and nine quarterback hits, both career lows. The team got solid play out of young defensive ends Joseph Ossai and Kris Jenkins Jr, but in order to truly compete, they will need to add another impactful pass rusher.
The Bengals should target one of the high impact big time edge rushers with the 17th pick in this year’s draft. Some of the guys they should go after are Georgia Linebacker Jalon Walker, Tennessee Defensive Lineman James Pearce Jr., and Ohio State Defensive End Jack Sawyer.
Walker’s top tier speed and athleticism should allow him to come to Cincinnati and wreak havoc on the defensive line. James Pearce Jr’s elite size and agility was on full display this past season at Tennessee as he recorded 7.5 sacks, and 19 over his three years in college. Then there is the home state hero Jack Sawyer, whose size and power should translate great into the NFL, and his four years of college experience would especially help this Bengals defense.
The Bengals also need to add a high impact player in the secondary which they could do in the later rounds of the draft, or in free agency. With just under $50 million in cap space, the Bengals have the 11th most cap space in the league, according to Spotrac. They could target a guy like Minnesota Vikings free agent Safety Camryn Bynum, who is coming off a season that saw him record a career high three interceptions. The home run guy would be Dolphins free agent Safety Jevon Holland who has been a top safety in the league for the last three seasons.
Signing either of these guys would be hard if they want to also have a chance to give an extension to star wide receiver Tee Higgins, who is an unrestricted free agent projected to make more than $25 million per year.
The Bengals should once again head into next season expected to have one of the top offenses in the league led by MVP finalist Joe Burrow. But in order to get back to the glory of the 2021 season that saw the team make their first Super Bowl in what seemed like forever, they will have to sign and draft guys that will boost their defense. The offense can only do so much, so the defense will undoubtedly have to step up and make more plays.