Bengals' Defense Must Find Right Gear, Season In Danger Despite Joe Burrow's MVP-Like Numbers

The Bengals play the Giants at Metlife Stadium on Sunday night. They're looking to rebound afrer a heartbreaking loss to the Ravens in Week 5.

Sep 29, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard (94) and safety Geno Stone (22) tackle Carolina Panthers running back Miles Sanders (6) during the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The saying “the more things change, the more things remain the same” would certainly apply to this 2024 Bengals team.

In Week 5 we saw another week of inexcusable, inexplicable head scratching play’s that resulted in another loss. This game against the Ravens had more implications, as it was a divisional matchup and its safe to say that in December, this team will look at this game with regret as another close game slipped through their hands. 

On the positive side, save for the first game of the season, Joe Burrow and this offense has played exceptionally well. Burrow contunues to find Ja'Marr Chase for game-changing plays over the past three weeks.

It goes without saying that this team is a handful of plays away from being 4-1. Had this been the case, we’d be talking about Burrow as one of the leading MVP candidates at this point in the season.

He's played that well. However, as Coach Bill Parcells famously said: “You are what your record says you are."

The offensive line has found some consistency in recent weeks but injuries to Trent Brown, Jaxson Kirkland and Amarius Mims forced them to sign Andrew Steuber from the Falcons practice squad. Additionally, Zac Taylor must have heard me call from more balance on offense. They actually ran the ball better and I believe this has contributed to some of the big plays in the passing game. 

Unfortunately, the defense has major issues.  They rank 30th in expected points allowed per play. I've written in previous weeks that I believe the majority of these issues will be prevalent throughout the year. The problem is multi-faceted-schematically and relative to personnel. Offensively, they ran the football more effectively which ultimately helped the defense. This resulted in playing better complimentary football as a team. They continue to struggle to  get off the field consistently enough on third downs, where The Ravens converted on nearly 67% of there attempts. 

Overall, the defense is giving up 32 points per game. This team will likely have to outscore teams to have an opportunity to win. The secondary has been less than stellar and just lost Dax hill to a torn ACL. Prior to his injury, Bengals' opponents completion percentage against the Bengals were in the upper tier of the NFL. The Ravens had a red zone efficiency of 83%. It just ins't a recipe that’s conducive to success in today’s NFL. Lou Anarumo seemingly hasn’t put the defense in advantageous situations consistently enough. 

Historically when bad teams start to lose, they begin to finger point. Zac Taylor subtly throwing Burrow under the bus saying he “audibled to a run” on first down during the overtime drive that resulted in the missed field goal, is not what you'd ideally like to hear.

That’s one of the fastest ways to lose a locker room. However, good teams overcome adversity. Remember that Burrows nemesis Patrick Mahomes led his team to the AFC Championship Game in 2018 as a first-year starter, despite the Chiefs finishing 31st in total defense. If the Bengals' defense doesn’t improve, it will continue to spoil an MVP start to the season by Burrow. 

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