The Cincinnati Bengals seemed to understand going into the season that things could get ugly for the defense, at least momentarily while they broke in new names.
But the youth movement, surrounded by pretty much the same thing as last year, has produced historically bad results.
That’s not an exaggeration, either.
The Al Golden-coordinated Bengals defense now currently slots as the worst of all time in DVOA, as illustrated by Aaron Schatz:
Congratulations to the #Bengals, who made it to the bottom. I wasn’t sure this week’s game with the Steelers was bad enough, but the Bengals now have the worst defensive DVOA ever measured (through 10 games).
(Higher DVOA = More Offense) pic.twitter.com/Co8mObe7F9
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) November 17, 2025
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It’s hard to see how things get better, either. The Bengals get nine-win New England next. They still see Lamar Jackson twice. They get Josh Allen. And chaotic as things might be down there, they get the sometimes-explosive Miami offense. That’s five of their remaining seven games.
The #Bengals are moving closer to having the top FOUR spots for most missed tackles in the league.
(Devin White’s stats from MNF not added yet). pic.twitter.com/8rxlaT4ufj
— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) November 18, 2025
The Bengals don’t exactly have the personnel necessary to make lineup changes, either. Rookie Shemar Stewart is on injured reserve. Trey Hendrickson is hurt. They went torched Earth at linebacker and have nobody else to turn to, plus, they never attempted to upgrade the safety position last year.
Maybe the Bengals defense tightens up as the season winds down, sure. But the fact just avoiding being the worst of all time is where the bar is at is an abject failure by the organization, top to bottom.
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals trending toward all-time worst defense with no help in sight
