The highs and lows of the Zac-Taylor-coached Cincinnati Bengals have been both extremely high and extremely low. Taylor helped lead the Bengals to their first playoff win in over 30 years, as well as an appearance in Super Bowl LVI and the following AFC Championship game. Under his tutelage, the Bengals have also earned the No. 1 overall pick once and suffered some embarrassing collapses.
Here are the five worst Bengals losses in the Taylor era (in no particular order):
10/26/25, Bengals 38, Jets 39
Starting off strong with one from recent memory!
Coming into Week 8, the Bengals had an opportunity to even up their record at 4-4 against the winless New York Jets, who, without Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner, were being led by Justin Fields. The Bengals’ defense allowed the Jets to score 23 points in the fourth quarter, which included three touchdowns, two of which were capped off with good two-point conversions.
The Bengals fell to 3-5 instead of 4-4, setting up another epic collapse.
9/8/24, Bengals 10, Patriots 16
The Bengals came into the ‘24 season with championship hopes. Joe Burrow was fully healthy after an injury-riddled ‘23 season, and the Bengals were primed to make another run at the Super Bowl. There was only one thing standing in their way—a patented Zac-Taylor, slow-start game.
The Bengals, who finished the season with one of the most explosive offenses in the league, were terrible in the first game of the season. They went into halftime, down 10-0, and they did everything they could to shoot themselves in the foot, including a fumble out of the back of the end zone from Tanner Hudson that could have won this game.
Had the Bengals won this game, they would have made the playoffs.
The Patriots went on to win a whole three games after this.
9/21/25, Bengals 10, Vikings 48
Look, another game from the 2025 season, which isn’t even halfway over yet (and that’s not the last one either).
This was Browning’s first game as the team’s starting quarterback after Burrow suffered a grade-three turf toe injury, and it couldn’t have gone more wrong. Browning threw two interceptions, and the offense fumbled the ball FIVE times, three of which were lost. Two of those turnovers turned into Vikings’ defensive touchdowns. There aren’t many teams that can commit five turnovers and win, but the Bengals got embarrassed.
The 38 points represented the worst loss in franchise history, and showed Bengals fans they needed to strap in for a rough ride in 2025.
11/2/25, Bengals 42, Bears 47
This one’s another for the record books. The Bengals’ defense in 2024 was terrible, and the product they put out on the field in 2025 was somehow worse. The Bengals, down 41-27 with less than five minutes left in the game, scored a touchdown and two-point conversion, recovered an onside kick, and scored another touchdown and converted the extra point to take a 42-41 lead with 54 seconds left in the game.
The Bengals’ defense just needed one stop to send the Bengals into the bye week with a 4-6 record and a sliver of hope, but Caleb Williams just needed four plays to find rookie tight end Colston Loveland, who broke three tackles on his way to a 58-yard touchdown.
What are the chances of scoring 15 points AND converting an onside kick AND still losing?
It’s gotta be low.
12/1/24, Bengals 38, Steelers 44
The Bengals were coming out of their bye with a 4-7 record, and they basically needed to win the final six games of the season to give themselves a realistic shot at the playoffs after another slow start. The Steelers came into the game coming off a loss to the Browns, and Russell Wilson was in somewhat of a quarterback controversy for who should be starting—him or Justin Fields.
Teams shouldn’t be able to score 38 points in the NFL and lose, but the Bengals seem to do it consistently. The Bengals’ defense allowed Wilson to throw for over 400 yards and three touchdowns. The Bengals went on to win the final six games of the season, but by then, it was too little, too late.
What other losses would you add to the list?
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