Cincy Jungle
A “dead-cat bounce” is a term used in finance to describe a brief recovery before an asset continues its inevitable decline. The idea is simple: even a dead cat will bounce if it falls from high enough. People see the bounce, convince themselves it means something, and buy in—only to realize too late that the thing was already gone.
That’s where the Bengals are right now.
This is the bounce.
Is it fun? Sure.
Watching a big man catch a pass in the flat and lumber toward the end zone will never not be fun, especially when it’s happening in a game your team is clearly going to win. Joe Burrow throwing for over 300 yards in three quarters before handing the keys to Joe Flacco? Fun. The defense looking competent? Also fun—though that had more to do with the opponent than anything else.
This is what the Bengals were supposed to look like all along. Doing it now, against one of the worst teams in football, doesn’t suddenly make it impressive. It just makes it too little, too late.
And this is exactly the kind of stretch that will be used as justification to run it all back. Zac Taylor in 2026. Al Golden in 2026. Same structure, same voices, same hope that next year will be different.
This late-season burst—when everyone is playing for pride and health rather than playoff positioning—is good for morale. It’s also a trap. Because there are no other teams in the league capable of moving the ball the way the Bengals can when everything clicks, Chase and Higgins remain the best wide receiver duo in football, and when Burrow has time, the offense can hang 40 on anyone.
The problem, as always, is that the defense is just as capable of giving up 50.
The last three seasons have been brutal in different ways. 2023 can be chalked up to injuries. But 2024 and 2025? Those are organizational failures. Fan morale feels as low as it’s been since the ’90s.
So yes, the Bengals are a dead cat. And what we’re watching right now is the bounce before it hits the pavement for good after Week 18.
When Taylor and Golden are both back on the sidelines in 2026, and the defense gives up 45 points in a soul-crushing overtime loss, remember these last couple of games. Remember how they were used as justification to change nothing.
