That was painful.
If you were lucky, you turned off the Cincinnati Bengals game on Sunday—maybe when they were already trailing by 45—and went outside to enjoy what I assume was a nice day.
If you were unlucky, you made the trip from Cincinnati to Minneapolis hoping to watch Jake Browning lead the Bengals to their first 3-0 start in a decade. Instead, you sat through a 48-10 slaughter, watching a group of impostors in striped helmets collapse in real time. I can’t think of a more miserable way to spend a Sunday. If you made that trip, I feel for you, and I hope Vikings fans showed you some mercy.
Me? I couldn’t turn it off. No matter how much I wanted to, it was like watching a train wreck—horrifying, but impossible to look away.
The Bengals turned the ball over five times. No team in the NFL survives a 0-5 turnover margin, especially not one missing two defensive starters and its franchise quarterback. Browning threw two interceptions, and the team put the ball on the ground six times, losing three of them.
The offensive line offered little help. Browning struggled constantly under pressure, and unlike Joe Burrow, he doesn’t have the pocket presence or escapability to turn chaos into opportunities. When he’s forced off-platform, the offense collapses with him.
And the run game? Nonexistent. Chase Brown carried 10 times for three yards. Three. As a team, they averaged 2.5 yards per carry. It’s the same story we’ve seen for years under Zac Taylor: a revolving door of offensive line coaches—Jim Turner, Frank Pollack, Scott Peters—without a consistent ability to run the ball. Since Taylor took over, the best rushing finish the Bengals have had was still bottom-10 in the league, all the way back in 2021.
Obviously, this offense is built around Burrow’s arm, but maybe that’s the problem. Maybe, when Burrow returns, the Bengals need to lean into a more boring, ball-control approach—if only to protect him. Because if what we saw in Minnesota is what this offense is going to look like the rest of the season, they won’t just miss the playoffs. They’ll be picking in the top five come Spring.
In the end, this was just one game. Probably the ugliest Bengals game I’ve ever watched, but still just one. They’re 2-1, and style points don’t count in the standings.
What does matter is what comes next. Now we find out who the 2025 Cincinnati Bengals really are. A team can either crumble after a loss like this, or use it as the spark to adjust and fight back.
The test comes fast—on the road, under the lights of Monday Night Football in Denver. The Broncos are opening as a touchdown favorite, and they’ll be waiting. If the same Bengals team that showed up in Minnesota takes the field again in the Rockies, Denver covering the spread will be the easiest bet of the week.
If the 2025 Cincinnati Bengals have any grit, this is where we’ll see it.
Randomness from Week 3:
- Orlando Brown Jr. looked slow on Sunday. The entire offensive line looked overwhelmed and outmatched.
- The inability to run the ball is on Taylor. There is no other person to take the blame. Multiple offensive line coaches have been unable to build a solid run game for multiple running backs. With teams hesitant to load the box against Burrow, running shouldn’t be hard. Even with Burrow on the field, the running game isn’t really respectable.
- I understand the defense loaded the box against Browning, because, why not, but 2.5 yards per carry is pathetic.
- I think Dylar Fairchild has potential, but he struggled on Sunday, especially as a run blocker.
- I’m always down for a Drew-Sample touchdown, but not when it’s the only one the offense is able to muster on the day.
- If I had the No. 1 overall pick in any of the four of my fantasy leagues, I would have taken Chase. Lucky for me, I didn’t. If you did, I’m sorry.
- I want to see more Tahj Brooks in Week 4. Brown hasn’t shown me he deserves to have a choke hold on the primary back position. Brooks should get some more carries.
- Through three weeks, the Bengals have one of the worst offenses in the league.
- I think Taylor’s seat is, or at least it should be, officially hot. The Bengals have battled back from adversity in the Taylor era before, but losses like this can cause rot that festers.
- Here’s how the Bengals’ offense went, drive by drive on Sunday: punt, pick six, punt, punt, field goal, fumble (scoop and score), fumble, fumble, punt, interception, TOUCHDOWN!, punt, punt — disgusting.
- The Bengals’ play calling gave me Bob-Bratkowski flashbacks.
- When Dalton Risner left with a calf injury, rookie lineman Jalen Rivers came in to relieve him. PFF gave him a grade of 55.9 for run blocking and a 32.8 for pass blocking on 23 snaps. As far as the eye test? He looked like a rookie.
When Taylor’s tenure as head coach in Cincinnati has run its course, whether that be before the season is over or in 10 years, one of the nails in his coffin will be forged from Week 3 of the 2025 season. It’s a sharp one.
Back to the drawing board for the Bengals. They have a shot to turn things around, but if the mistakes and miscues continue to pile up, they’ll be in quick sand, right next to Shane Falco.
Hang my head
Drown my fear
Till you all just disappear
Black hole sun
Won’t you come
And wash away the rain?
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