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Bengals postgame wrap after loss to Chicago Bears

Enquirer beat reporter Kelsey Conway on the Bengals’ 47-42 loss to the Chicago Bears on Nov. 2.

In the NFL, championships are forged through a balance of talent evaluation, draft success, player development and investments via free agency and trades. Playoff opportunities come to the teams who embrace what’s required in the modern NFL, while getting it wrong in any of those areas can cost a franchise dearly.

At 3-6 after a stunning Nov. 2 loss to the Chicago Bears and entering the bye week, everything about the Cincinnati Bengals is being dissected, including how the organization balances its draft, evaluation and development needs. And right now, the perception is the Bengals are missing on their draft picks on the defensive side of the ball. On-field results have made that hard to refute.

Cincinnati.com analyzed the play of the organization’s seven-member 2025 rookie class (six are draft picks) in order to help contextualize where the team is erring even as the offense continues to deliver in the absence of Joe Burrow and with 40-year-old Joe Flacco at starting quarterback.

Shemar Stewart (edge, Texas A&M)

Acquired: First-round NFL Draft pick (No. 17 overall)

Overview: Prior to the Bengals’ Nov. 2 loss to the Chicago Bears, defensive coordinator Al Golden told local reporters that Shemar Stewart was still in the infancy of his development as a professional football player. It certainly looks like the contract dispute that kept him out of offseason workouts and a handful of training camp sessions, plus missing four games due to injury, has been detrimental to Stewart’s growth. Any first-round draft pick is going to be expected to be an impact player, and Stewart simply hasn’t been that so far. In five games, he has no sacks, two solo tackles and one quarterback hit. There are a lot of holes in the Bengals’ defense. Stewart’s is one of the glaring ones. The Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway wrote of Stewart following the team’s Oct. 26 loss to the then-winless New York Jets: The player isn’t “giving the Bengals enough production for the investment the team made” in him.

The coaching staff’s take: “He’d be the first to tell you he just needs to be more consistent,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said during an Oct. 27 interview with local media members. “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. That’s what we’re trying to do. That’s where we’re trying to get him to so that he can go back to enjoying the game and play with passion. But it was a challenge. We thought we were getting him to that place coming out of Cleveland and going into Jacksonville, and then he got injured and missed a whole block of work again. It’ll come. It’ll come. He’s a great kid.” 

Demetrius Knight Jr. (linebacker, South Carolina)

Acquired: Second-round 2025 NFL Draft pick (No. 49 overall)

Overview: It’s impossible to separate the Bengals’ defensive struggles from those of Demetrius Knight Jr., who is also yet to level up to the investment made in him. A second-round draft pick is considered a premium asset, so perhaps a starting-caliber player or one with the proverbial “high ceiling, plus a need for a longer development runway. Consider Knight a mix of both right now. It’s been said that the Bengals are fully committed to a youth movement at linebacker, and Cincinnati has shown it’s committed to Knight as part of that. The organization sees something in Knight to indicate his potential, or that he is at least an upgrade over its other options at the position (Oren Burks, for instance). If the Bengals’ season is going to go sideways, and it might, maybe using the rest of 2025 as a development year lengthens the runway for Knight.

The coaching staff’s take: “You look at the tackle sheet and you’re like, ‘Man, he’s making a lot of tackles,'” Golden said Oct. 27. “Then there are some plays that he’s missing that you know he’s capable of, and you’re sitting there and going, ‘If he puts that together with what he’s already making,’ because of his effort and because of his suddenness and because of his strength, he’s really going to be something. They all learn at different levels.”

Dylan Fairchild (guard, Georgia)

Acquired: Third-round 2025 NFL Draft pick (No. 81 overall)

Overview: A third-round draft pick is also a premium commodity in the NFL, so using one on Fairchild indicated the Bengals wanted him to come in and own the left guard spot. So far, there’s reason to be optimistic about Fairchild, who has started all seven of the games in which he’s played. Sure, there have been ups and downs. Sometimes, Fairchild graded poorly after games but looked solid on tape, and vice versa. There’s reason to think Fairchild is growing into his role. For one, the running game has picked up in recent weeks. Fairchild’s been on the field for most (but not all) of that. There’s also this from the Nov. 2 game against the Chicago Bears: Fairchild, second-year lineman Amarius Mims and fellow rookie Jalen Rivers combined to allow zero quarterback pressures. Also, Fairchild is freakishly athletic. He was recruited by Penn State not only for football, but also by the school’s heralded, Cael Sanderson-coached wrestling program. Fairchild is young and improving, and he’s already laying down a solid foundation.

The coaching staff’s take: “We’re going to continue to press him and have a high expectation for him, and I’m confident he’ll fulfill those expectations,” offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said prior to Week 2.

Barrett Carter (linebacker, Clemson)

Acquired: Fourth-round 2025 NFL Draft pick (No. 119 overall)

Overview: He’s wasn’t a top-100 draft pick, but he was close at 119th overall, so there was reason to think the Bengals valued Barrett Carter as a premium player who could make a dent in Year One. So far, Carter is racking up tackles, but also missed tackles (10, per Pro Football Focus) as a rookie middle linebacker. Like Knight, Carter has left too much to be desired on a defense that can’t buy a stop. PFF’s season-long grade for Carter has him close to the bottom of the NFL’s rookie class of linebackers. The good news for Carter is the Bengals have stuck with him so far. Logan Wilson’s trade request was granted and Carter should continue to get ample opportunity to fine-tune himself.

The coaching staff’s take: In explaining the decision to bench Logan Wilson in favor of Carter, Golden said: “It was a collective thought of ‘let’s give Barrett a try.’ We’ll see where we’re at with him and see if it brings a different energy. But that’s really it. It has nothing to do with Logan. It was just about giving Barrett an opportunity, and we’ll see how it unfolds moving forward.”

Jalen Rivers (tackle, Miami)

Acquired: Fifth-round 2025 NFL Draft pick (No. 153 overall)

Overview: Like Fairchild, right tackle Jalen Rivers has grown into his role and seemed to be gaining some traction as the Bengals reached the bye week. Again, the running game has become a weapon, especially over the last three games. And while Flacco does his linemen a service by getting the ball out so quickly, the young Rivers-Fairchild-Mims core along the line is getting decent reps on tape. They look like a group that could have staying power. Rivers played in all nine of Cincinnati’s games and started the last six. There is reason for optimism about Rivers.

The coaching staff’s take: Asked why he’d decided to remain committed to Jalen Rivers, Pitcher said on Oct. 29: “He’s a guy that’s very mature for a rookie, and his preparation and knowledge of what we’re doing, and love his daily approach, I think he is a guy that will get better with reps. It’s a hard position to play in this league and especially as a young player. So, I would expect both of our young guards that, as they continue to play, they’re going to make errors, and the goal is to make less and less errors and make sure it’s not a repeat error. And I think that’s what you’re seeing. … We like what we’ve seen in him.”

Tahj Brooks (running back, Texas Tech)

Acquired: Sixth-round 2025 NFL Draft pick (No. 193 overall).

Overview: Tahj Brooks just hasn’t seen much of the field so far in 2025, but that’s not entirely his fault. For starters, he’s playing behind veterans Chase Brown and Semaje Perine. On top of being a pass-heavy team to begin with, the Bengals have often found themselves trailing in games or locked in high-scoring shootouts. The circumstances haven’t exactly been “run friendly” for any of Cincy’s running backs. Against the Bears, Brooks had one carry. It was his first since Week 3. On the year, Brooks has six carries for 18 yards. If the season continues to slide away from Cincinnati, maybe there will be an opportunity for Brooks to get some additional reps.

William Wagner (long snapper, Michigan)

Acquired: Signed in May as an undrafted free agent.

Overview: Special teams has been a strength for the Bengals. Punting is solid. The field-goal unit is solid, and Evan McPherson has really only missed on the super-long-ranger circus kicks (or the one against Chicago where he didn’t get to kick one of the designated kicking balls, or “k-balls.”). Blips have been few and far between, and operations have been smooth. That’s where Wagner’s played his role, and it’s very hard to nitpick him.