The Cincinnati Bengals lost an unbelievable heartbreaker to the Chicago Bears on Sunday in Week 9. After a late touchdown to take a 42-41 lead, the Bengals' defense allowed Caleb Williams and the Bears to pull off a miracle.
After the game, Ja'Marr Chase, Chase Brown, and many others were stunned and frustrated with the performance of the defense. Cincinnati's defense has been bad this season, and this Week 9 collapse was the latest rough outing from the defense.
To fully grasp how bad the Bengals' defense has been this season, Dante Koplowitz-Fleming of NFL.com identified three key stats that highlight just how bad the defense has played.
Three Bengals defensive stats highlight historic struggles
"The Bengals' defense in the last two weeks has allowed 86 points and over 1,000 yards." Koplowitz-Fleming writes. "They are the only team in the Super Bowl era to allow at least 500 total yards, 38 points, and have zero takeaways in consecutive games."
Over the last two weeks, against the Bears and the New York Jets, the Bengals' defense has allowed an average of 43 points and 500 yards. To add insult to injury, the defense isn't even getting any takeaways to help their offense. But that stat is only a glimpse into how much Cincinnati's defense has struggled this season.
"They are the first team since the 1966 Giants to score 38-plus points in consecutive games and go 0-2 in them." Koplowitz-Fleming writes. "Since the start of 2024, the Bengals have four losses in games they scored at least 38 points -- the rest of the NFL combined has four such losses in that span."
These two incredible stats highlight how the Bengals' woes in the last two years are solely on the defense's shoulders. The offense, even with a 40-year-old Joe Flacco, is able to put up elite numbers consistently.
More: Chase Brown has brutal NSFW response to Bengals' stunning defensive collapse
But the defense is allowing teams to score at will, leading to the most 38-point losses of any team in the last two years. The Bengals not only have four such losses, but the rest of the NFL combined in that time frame has four such losses.
While the offense can struggle at times like any other team, the defense has been the major sticking point for the Bengals, not being able to get over their struggles in the last year and a half.
The Bengals' defense is allowing a lot of yards, points, and isn't able to get any takeaways. Add on that the defense can't get a stop when it matters most at the end of games, and the Bengals' 3-6 record despite a great offensive output is a brutal place to be.
These statistics highlight just how bad the defense in Cincinnati has been. They're running out of time to turn their season around, and the defense has been largely to blame for their 3-6 record heading into a Week 10 bye.
More Bengals News:
- Ja'Marr Chase shares brutal NSFW opinion on Bengals' defensive collapse vs. Bears
- Bengals have NFL's worse two-game losing streak in 60 years
- Bengals' Joe Flacco destroys previous career high in stat against Bears
- Bengals' Logan Wilson receiving interest from Cowboys among three contenders
- How a Bengals' Week 9 loss could make Trey Hendrickson available for trade