Bengals are beating the bad teams and losing to the good teams.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
It was the name of a Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western from the 60s.
And it tells the story of the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals.
The Good
Against teams with losing records, the Bengals have gone 6-1 this season and have outscored their opponents by a combined 187-132. Cincinnati has beaten the Carolina Panthers, the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Tennessee Titans – teams with a combined record of 19-64. The only loss came in the season opener against a now 3-11 New England Patriots team.
Quarterback Joe Burrow leads the league in passing yards (3,977) and touchdown passes (36), is third in total QBR behind only Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, and is tied for 8th in completion percentage at 68.5%.
Ja’Marr Chase is chasing the triple crown for receivers and currently leads the league in receptions (102), yards (1,413) and touchdown receptions (15).
The Bad
Cincinnati is 0-7 against teams with a winning record and has been outscored by a combined 255-212. In addition to the Patriots, the Bengals have lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Washington Commanders, the Baltimore Ravens (twice), the Philadelphia Eagles, the Los Angeles Chargers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Six of those losses have been by seven points or less.
The Ugly
Cincinnati has scored more than 30 points seven times this season. Five of those efforts have come in losses, thanks to a defense that is among the worst in the league in just about every category. The Bengals are allowing an average of 27.6 points per game (3rd from the bottom), 239.2 yards passing per game (5th from the bottom), and 366.1 total yards per game (4th from the bottom).
The defense has played pretty well against teams with a losing record, allowing an average of 18.9 points per game. Against teams with winning records, Cincinnati’s defense has allowed a whopping 35.6 points per game.
And, of course, we can’t talk about ugly without looking at Sunday’s 37-27 win at Tennessee – 10 turnovers (four by the Bengals, including two interceptions and a lost fumble by Burrow, and six by the Titans) and 26 penalties. Sure, a win is a win, but this one didn’t feel much like a win.
The season’s not over yet, and two of the remaining three teams (Denver and Pittsburgh) have winning records. Hopefully, the trends are about to change.
