Scouting the Enemy: Cincinnati Bengals

Week Four of the 2025 NFL season is upon us. The Denver Broncos host the Cincinnati Bengals for their first primetime game of the season on Monday Night Football. The Broncos are hoping to get back to being a .500 ball club, while the Bengals are hoping to stick atop of the AFC North even without Joe Burrow at quarterback. The stakes are high for both teams, but there is no denying it’s a must-win game for Denver. With that said, let’s take a deeper look at the Bengals, some key players, and what the Broncos have to accomplish to secure a primetime victory.

2024 Cincinnati Bengals Season Review

The Bengals finished their 2024 campaign falling just sort of the playoffs with a 9-8 record and a third-place finish in the AFC North. While their offense was efficient scoring the sixth most points and accumulating the ninth most yards in the NFL, their defense ranked 25th in points allowed and yards given up. In order for them to get back to being a playoff team, they are certainly going to have to do much better than they did defensively in ‘24.

2025 Cincinnati Bengals Offseason Additions

Falling just short of the playoffs, the Bengals didn’t make a whole lot of outside splashes in free agency this offseason. However, they did a good job of rewarding their top players who have helped them be successful in recent memory. They gave mega-deals to receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Most of their outside additions were on the defensive side of the ball.

The same goes for their endeavors in the 2025 NFL Draft, where they used multiple early selections to improve the defense. They are hopeful first-round pick Shemar Stewart can eventually give them a must needed boost to their pass rush, but rookie linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. has already hit the ground running. Through three games, he already has 21 tackles and is making a lot of plays on the ball just like he did in college.

Offensive X-Factor: Quarterback Jake Browning

Last season, I had wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase as the obvious choice here as their offensive X-Factor. He’s certainly their most dynamic playmaker. They are certainly going to need him to perform well in order to topple the Broncos on the road.

However, for this year’s game, I’m going to switch it up and focus on a player that certainly has a lot of work to do. I’m talking about quarterback Jake Browning since Joe Burrow is out due to a foot injury for quite some time Browning’s start on the road in Denver will be the fifteen game of his career and his ninth start. Playing in two games this season, he has completed 68-percent of his passes for 381 yards and three touchdowns. However, he has been prone to throwing interceptions (five) in those two appearances and has a quarterback rating of 67.1.

I don’t envision Browning being able to perform like Burrow did in last year’s...