Cincinnati Bengals postgame wrap| What went wrong in loss to Jets
Enquirer beat writer Kelsey Conway breaks down what went wrong in the Bengals’ loss to the Jets on Oct. 26.
Following the worst loss of the Cincinnati Bengals’ season so far, defensive coordinator Al Golden answered 25 minutes of questions from the local media.
The Bengals’ defensive performance in the embarrassing loss to the New York Jets on Oct. 26 brought plenty of topics for Golden to address in his weekly press conference. Golden’s defense allowed 502 total yards of offense to a team that was winless entering Week 8.
Cincinnati gave up 254 yards on the ground to the Jets. The Bengals didn’t record a sack on quarterback Justin Fields and only registered one hit. They gave up too many explosive plays and are still struggling to tackle consistently.
So, which of these areas left Golden the most frustrated following the 39-38 loss?
“We didn’t affect the quarterback enough,” Golden said. “I didn’t think we were spectacular against the run in the first half, but it wasn’t awful. You can’t give up three explosives like that and think you’re going to win the game. That ties into the other point you made. Space tackling is a part of that. They go hand and hand.”
The Jets had runs of 25, 50, 35 and 27 yards and pass plays of 34, 26, 23 and 24 yards.
The Bengals have gone two games without a sack. They need more from their pass rushers Myles Murphy, Joseph Ossai and Shemar Stewart. Interior defensive linemen Kris Jenkins and BJ Hill aren’t giving the unit any help rushing from the inside, but the lack of productivity from the edge rushers not named Trey Hendrickson is alarming.
On 155 opportunities to rush the passer this season, Cincinnati’s pass rushers not named Hendrickson combined for two pressures and two wins. This win rate amounts to 1.3 percent, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Bengals aren’t winning enough of their one-on-one matchups up front, and it’s crippling them on defense.
“There’s got to be some more one-on-ones that we’re winning and getting home on with our pressures,” head coach Zac Taylor said on the lack of a pass rush in back-to-back games. “Sometimes we’re right there right in the thick of it and maybe at that point there’s a coverage let up where they just give up a little bit of space and he can the ball and find a completion. So it all works together in conjunction, and I think overall it’s certainly an area we got to improve. Got to affect the passer.”
If this sounds familiar, it’s because it was the same issue the Bengals had in 2024.
The Bengals ranked in the bottom quarter of the NFL last year in sacks with 36. It was the biggest area of need for the team entering the offseason. They have 11 sacks in eight games this year, and four belong to Hendrickson.
Taylor fired his former defensive line coach Marion Hobby and hired Jerry Montgomery in addition to firing former defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo for Golden. The team didn’t draft or sign a pass rushing interior defensive lineman. They re-signed two defensive linemen in Hill and Ossai, and neither rushed the passer consistently last year.
Cincinnati’s hope was that Montgomery and Golden could get more out of players like Murphy, Ossai and Jenkins and then picked Shemar Stewart in the first round of this year’s draft.
Stewart was always viewed as a boom or bust prospect throughout the pre-draft prospectus due to his lack of production at Texas A&M. His physical skillset is rare, but he’s yet to be able to put it all together for a long period of time. Stewart logged just 3.5 sacks in three years in college.
It’s too early to judge Stewart’s career, but his rookie season hasn’t gone the way anyone would have hoped. Stewart missed the entire offseason and first week of training camp because of a contract dispute with the team. When he returned, he showed flashes of what he can be but then suffered an ankle injury in the Bengals’ Week 2 win over the Jaguars forcing him to miss the next four games.
Stewart has now played two games since returning from his ankle injury and hasn’t looked particularly strong.
Golden said the game needs to slow down for Stewart to allow him to follow his instincts. The problem is, the Bengals don’t have the luxury of waiting on Stewart to become an impact pass rusher. They need him to affect the quarterback right now.
“He would be the first to tell you he just needs to be more consistent,” Golden said of Stewart. “It needs to slow down for him. It’s technique on top of assignment on top of what the offense is doing to you. That’s a lot for him right now for where he is. Once it slows down, I know his talent is going to take over.”
Murphy has continued to be a non-factor for the Bengals despite this being a make-or-break year for the former No. 17 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Out of 141 snaps where he’s been on the field in pass rushing situations, Murphy has recorded 1.5 sacks and eight hurries, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I think he’s continuing to make progress,” Golden said. “He’s playing stronger at the line of scrimmage. We need him to win his one-on-ones in the pass rush game and again for Myles, he’s long, just know who you are as a pass rusher. He’s continuing to make progress there, and we just got to get it to translate to the game now, which I’m confident it will.”
Ossai has been the most productive defensive end outside of Hendrickson, and he’s recorded two sacks. The Bengals need him to continue playing how he is in addition to Murphy, Stewart, Jenkins and Hill all stepping up.
Golden said he believes he can continue to find ways to manufacture pressure. He’s shown a willingness to get creative with blitzes. But at the end of the day with Hendrickson battling a hip injury, the quickest way for the Bengals to turn things around on defense is if they can start making it more challenging for their opponents’ quarterback week in and out.
“I’ve got to put them in a better position,” Golden said. “We’ve got to pressure more. Of course, you have to win one-on-ones. That’s a part of it. We have to win our one-on-ones and get them off track so it’s more pocket pass and less play action. All of it was coming together to create that. We’ve got to do a better job there.”