The Bengals fell off a cliff after a Monday Night Football loss.
The Cincinnati Bengals went up 7-0 after the first drive of their home primetime game against the Washington Commanders on Monday.
Their defense couldn’t do much to stop Washington throughout the entire night as rookie QB Jayden Daniels scored on his first drive and continued to pick the Bengals apart both through the air and on the ground.
The Commanders, who were touchdown underdogs, won 38-33. The Bengals sit 0-3 and last in the AFC North, a disappointing reality after having been among the best teams in the league for two of the last three seasons.
That said, the national media power rankings indicated a falloff, but this is a steep one as the Bengals will need to find a way to right their ship in the near future.
NFL.com — No. 21 – Down from No. 16
From 1990 through last season, 162 teams started at 0-3 — just four made the playoffs and zero won the Super Bowl. This is what the Bengals are staring at right now. There are winnable games coming up, but Monday night looked like the perfect spot to end the 0-for. Instead, Jayden Daniels shredded Cincinnati’s defense time and time again. The Bengals were moving the ball all night, but you can’t kick field goals three times (missing one) and beat an opponent that never punts and hits paydirt on nearly every drive. It’s hard to completely kill a team that has lost three one-score games, but the Bengals are not a threat right now. They beat themselves too often and can’t get those crucial stops late. They won’t go quietly, but they’re in an uphill battle from here on out.
USA Today — No. 24 – Down from No. 16
Remember when QB Joe Burrow said “the (Super Bowl) window is my whole career”? You’re a hoot, dude … not that it was fair to expect you to carry this franchise for more than a few years.
ESPN — No. 25 – Down from No. 18
The Bengals threw the ball as much as anyone through the first two weeks of the season. They were second in the league in designed pass plays (70.4%), according to ESPN Research. However, they ranked 26th in the league in expected points added per dropback and 24th in yards per dropback. Either the Bengals need to be more efficient in their passing game or perhaps find a better way to incorporate the run game. Cincinnati’s 58 rush attempts by its running backs are the second fewest in the league after Week 3. — Ben Baby
CBS Sports — No. 28 – Down from No. 22
The defense is horrible right now. At 0-3, they are in a deep hole. Can they climb out of it?
Sports Illustrated — No. 20 – Down from No. 13
The AFC North is going to end up smushing together like a box of melted ice cream cones by the end of November, so I am not counting the Bengals out. I am calling them flat-footed and unable to meet the moment. This has been the case in a high-energy opener and again against the Commanders, where a stunning performance by Jayden Daniels. This is going to tap into what is happening at a motivational and preparation level. A real mirror-gazing moment.
Yahoo! Sports — No. 24 – Down from No. 18
The Commanders had just two non-scoring possessions against the Bengals, once when they took a knee at the end of the first half and the other when they took a knee at the end of the game. Cincinnati allowed six scores on Washington’s other six possessions. The Bengals are already in a huge hole this season and their banged-up defense is a big reason.
FOX Sports — No. 15 – Down from No. 10
The Bengals scored 33 points, did not punt or turn the ball over, got All-Pro performances from their quarterback and star receiver — and somehow lost. I’ll be digesting that Jayden Daniels performance for quite some time, but Cincinnati better turn the page quickly. Even as impressive as the offense looked on Monday night, 0-3 is usually a death knell for the season. It’s going to take a hell of a strong locker room to right this ship.
Pro Football Talk — No. 22 – Down from No. 16
The longer the Bengals struggle, the better it is for the team in Kansas City that doesn’t want to see them in January.
Sporting News — No. 22 – Down from No. 20
The Bengals shouldn’t have lost to the Patriots in Week 1, but they found their fight and mojo in Kansas City vs. the Chiefs. They unleashed their dangerous passing game again vs. the Commanders on Monday night, but then forgot to play any kind of real defense.
