Cincy Jungle
I saw a local Cincinnati news anchor talking about this the other day. This is not an original thought, and I wish I knew who he was so I could give proper credit—but I don’t. Still, the point stuck.
The Cincinnati Bengals lost again. They came out of their bye week riding a two-game losing streak and desperately needed a win against a so-so Steelers team leading a so-so division. Instead, they lost 34–12. They trailed 10–9 when future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers left the game and was replaced by Mason Rudolph…and they still managed to fumble this one away.
The defense played a little better. They allowed 20 points—the Steelers’ defense accounted for the other 14—but they were still pretty bad. The play below is basically a microcosm of the Bengals’ 2025 defensive performance:
The first thing you’ll notice is Barrett Carter having his head dribbled off the turf like a basketball. Then you see Geno Stone—who was a poor tackler even back when he was good in coverage in Baltimore—attempt something that I cannot in good faith call “tackling.”
Poor tackling was an issue in 2024. Lou Anarumo took the blame for last year’s defensive collapse that kept them out of the playoffs—even though Joe Burrow put up an MVP-level season and Ja’Marr Chase won the Triple Crown. But Anarumo clearly wasn’t the problem.
Tackling has technique, sure. But a whole lot of it comes down to the “want-to.”
And right now? I don’t see “want-to” from Stone. I don’t see it from 90 percent of the defense. What I do see is missed arm tackles, bad angles, first-round defensive linemen getting boxed out by slot receivers who weigh 60 pounds less, and—most of all—no changes.
Well…that’s not entirely true.
Al Golden, in all his wisdom, benched Logan Wilson—who was voted a defensive captain by his peers—in favor of Carter (the guy who just got used as a basketball). Wilson demanded a trade, and the Bengals shipped off a linebacker who’s tied for the league lead in interceptions at his position since 2020…for a seventh-round pick. That’s the change they made.
Anyway—anger versus apathy.
Whoever that news guy was, he said you know things are truly bad when fans stop being angry and start being apathetic. He’s right.
When I was a kid and got in trouble (which was often), my parents always made sure I understood their anger and the punishment were symptoms of one thing: they cared. If they didn’t care, they’d just let me do whatever I wanted.
Anger from Bengals fans is absolutely justified. We’ve watched this team invent new ways to lose over the last month, and there has been zero accountability for anyone—players, coaches, or the folks in the C-suite. Two years of regression, and the only guy who’s been held accountable is the one who left and helped the Colts get to 8–2 with Daniel Freaking Jones.
So yes, anger is justified. It’d be weird if you weren’t angry.
Apathy,...
