The Bengals lost, but was their public reputation damaged much?
The Cincinnati Bengals and winning at home is not a combination that goes together very well in 2024.
Cincinnati opened up its season with a discouraging 16-10 loss to the New England Patriots. In its next home game, a very winnable one against Washington, it dropped the ball again. It followed that up with another disappointing performance at Paycor Stadium. Do you see the trend?
The Bengals offense was electric Sunday, but they still lost 41-38. There will be numerous questions raised during the game, but the facts are that the Bengals lost despite Joe Burrow having one of the best games of his career.
That said, let’s dive into where the 1-4 Bengals are sitting according to the power rankings of numerous national media sites.
Pro Football Talk — No. 24 – Down from No. 21
They’ll finish strong. If they ever can get started.
NFL.com — No. 24 – Down from No. 21
Joe Burrow is on pace for a 4,500-yard, 40-TD, seven-INT season, and the Bengals sit at 1-4 overall and 0-3 at home with seven road games left on the schedule. The offense has operated at a terrific level over the past three games, and all they have to show for it is a win over the Panthers. The team’s defensive adjustments haven’t made much of a difference, and it’s fair to wonder if they ever will this season. Three times the Bengals went up by 10 points on the Ravens in the second half on Sunday, and all three times they surrendered touchdown drives immediately afterward. Baltimore was 10-for-15 on third downs, including 5-for-6 in the fourth quarter and overtime. After halftime, Lamar Jackson was 17-of-25 passing for 235 yards and three TDs with 40 yards rushing. You can’t blame that on not having Mike Hilton. Lou Anarumo’s defense let another one slip away while the season threatens to do the same thing.
ESPN — No. 24 – Same as last week
Despite not being the Bengals’ featured back, Brown has been a steal for fantasy managers. Over the past two weeks, he has been among the top 10 scorers among running backs in PPR leagues, according to ESPN Research. Brown has scored three touchdowns in the past two weeks and is Cincinnati’s big-play threat on the ground. Among backs with 25 carries or more, Brown is second in the league in percentage of runs that go for 10 or more yards (22%), trailing only Atlanta’s Tyler Allgeier. There’s also belief inside the building that the combo of Brown and Zack Moss will improve as the season continues. — Ben Baby
Yahoo! Sports — No. 20 – Down from No. 19
This is life in the ultra-competitive NFL: Instead of a game-winning field goal and a 2-3 record, rookie punter Ryan Rehkow bobbled the snap and it was a miss. The Ravens won shortly after and Cincinnati is 1-4. The Bengals’ four losses are by a combined 15 points.
FOX Sports — No. 20 – Down from No. 18
What a frustrating season. Even if the defense has struggled badly, the full body of work suggests that the Bengals are a better team than their record suggests. How they managed to bungle Lamar Jackson’s gift of a fumble in overtime still baffles me. The sheer firepower of this offense is enough to give you confidence that the season’s not over, but the margin for error is razor-thin.
CBS Sports — No. 24 – Down from No. 22
At 1-4, they are in a big hole in the division. The offense can score on anybody, but the defense is bad right now. As Joe Burrow said, they are not a championship team right now.
Sports Illustrated — No. 18 – Down from No. 16
The upcoming schedule for the Bengals features winnable road games the next two weeks against the Giants and Browns, which will give the Bengals a good chance to right the ship away from home. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase have fully awoken into unconscious, telepathic beast mode. It’s only a matter of time before the wins follow.
