Cincy Jungle
The Cincinnati Bengals are 2-2 heading into Week 5, and if you just crawled out from under a rock, that record might sound decent for a Zac Taylor-led team in early October. It isn’t—not even close.
After starting the season 2-0, the Bengals not only lost franchise quarterback Joe Burrow to a turf toe injury that required surgery, but they’ve also been outscored 76-13 in the two games Jake Browning has started. Needless to say, nothing has looked good over the past two weeks.
That includes the defense.
Yes, the offense has done Al Golden’s unit no favors with its inability to sustain drives, but the deeper issue seems to be the Bengals’ ongoing struggle to draft and develop defensive line talent.
It’s no shock that Trey Hendrickson leads the team in pass-rush win rate. He’s their best defensive player, consistently proving himself as one of the elite edge rushers in the league. The problem lies in everyone behind him.
Cincinnati prefers to build through the draft rather than free agency, and the logic makes sense: if rookies produce on cheap contracts, the front office can spend elsewhere. But that strategy falls apart if a team can’t consistently identify and develop the right players.
Most of the Bengals’ productive defensive linemen are veterans brought in from outside. Free-agent signings like T.J. Slaton and B.J. Hill have been solid, if unspectacular, ranking around league average among interior pass rushers. Mike Pennel, another free agent, has struggled badly. The bigger disappointment, though, is Kris Jenkins—a second-round pick in 2024 out of Michigan. The Bengals need him to emerge as at least a reliable rotational piece, but outside of an occasional flash, he hasn’t delivered.
The picture is even bleaker with McKinnley Jackson, a third-round pick last year out of Texas A&M. He hasn’t been active for a single regular-season game in 2025, which says all you need to know.
At defensive end, the drop-off after Hendrickson is glaring. Rookie Shemar Stewart has shown promise, but Joseph Ossai and Myles Murphy rank 92nd and 97th out of 124 pass rushers. That’s not good enough.
This isn’t a new problem. In 2024, Hendrickson was the Bengals’ only reliable pass rusher, and even with Burrow putting up MVP-caliber numbers and Ja’Marr Chase winning the receiving Triple Crown, Cincinnati still missed the playoffs. A lack of pass rush gave opposing quarterbacks free reign to sit in the pocket and shred the secondary. Now, without Burrow, the offense can’t keep games close enough to cover up those defensive flaws.
Something has to change. And with every blowout, the change that feels most likely is a new head coach. If Zac Taylor wants to prevent that outcome, his young defensive linemen must start producing—immediately.
