And so a frustrating, horrible, no-good season ends not with a bang but a whimper, a 20-18 defeat to Cleveland that was an almost impossible game to lose. Not that it mattered. Only five (five!) other games since 1978 featured a more unlikely Post-Game Win Expectancy; based on the underlying game stats, Cleveland would win this matchup just 1.1% of the time.
In other words, the result was sadly typical for the Bengals in 2025, a team that combined the worst elements of the underachieving 2023 and 2024 teams. Noah Fant fumbled and had it returned for a touchdown for the third time this season, a seemingly impossible feat. Joe Burrow threw a pick-six for the third time since returning to action on Thanksgiving, a deflected pass at the end zone the Browns took all the way back. That made it nine return touchdowns agains the Bengals this season, a franchise record—six picks and the three Fant-bles. Oh, and the usually reliable Evan McPherson missed a pair of extra points.
Cincinnati lost because, even though the Shadeur Sanders-led Browns did virtually nothing on offense all day, they managed to move the ball just enough in the one drive that counted, with the Bengals unable to protect a lead in the dying seconds. Unlike the season opener, when Andre Szmyt missed a potential game-winner FG, this time Szymt was true and the Bengals had blown yet another late lead.
So the Bengals finish 6-11. Let’s face it: Winning to finish 7-10 would not make any difference, and this way the Bengals retain a top-10 draft pick (10th exactly), so it’s hard to be too angry about the loss in the big picture. I was certainly angry the Browns celebrated not once but twice at Paycor Field—not just after winning the game but also when Myles Garrett inevitably set the single-season sack record, downing a turtling Burrow in the fourth quarter to set off a short party for the Browns superstar rush end.
Like any Bengals fan, the Garrett celebration made me ill, but so did Zac Taylor’s complaints about it after the game. C’mon, Zac, if you really were so unprepared for the idea they would briefly stop the game, then that frankly calls your position into question.
But, of course, his position is safe. The announcement came “From the Desk of Mike Brown” on Monday: Taylor, his coaching staff, and de facto GM Duke Tobin will all return in their jobs for 2026. This was, of course, completely expected. If some in the national media and social media speculated about Taylor’s job security, we knew better. Beyond the idea that he has two years remaining on his contract, which in Bengaldom is like being a lifetime Supreme Court Justice, he has Burrow’s support—which is really all that matters. If there was a disconnect between coach and QB, as there was in Baltimore leading to John Harbaugh’s firing, then Taylor would be long gone. But JB has been in lockstep with him throughout, and that hasn’t changed, so Taylor remains on the sideline.
Continuity isn’t the worst thing, mainly due to the fact that the Bengals organization can’t walk and chew gum simultaneously. We all know the Browns/Blackburns operate at a pitch fundamentally different from most other teams, preferring the settings set to “competitive” instead of “championship” and “financially flexible” instead of “all-in.” So keeping it simple, stupid, is the best context in which to achieve at the high end of their proscribed spectrum.
Having a new coach and/or player personnel boss is a complicating factor beyond this franchise’s ability to retool and be in the mix for 2026. At least this way they can actually focus on the one thing they need to do—fix the defense and the depth—without pesky other distractions on their plate.
As we know, the Bengals did nothing to augment their defense after 2024’s disaster beyond firing Lou Anarumo in favor of Al Golden. Cincinnati’s defense was the fourth-highest paid in the league in 2024, so they certainly got zero bang for their buck. This year, they were the 25th-highest paid unit and got what they paid for.
They clearly can’t go forward with the same framework, but what does that mean? With the offense essentially set, assuming they re-sign Dalton Risner at right guard (never assume!), Cincinnati can open up the coffers to bring in free agents and salary cap cuts in a way they haven’t done in years and successfully done for even longer. The positions of need are clear: rush end to replace Trey Hendrickson and presumably Joseph Ossai, three-technique tackle, linebacker, free safety and another to back up, and either a slot corner to compete with Jalen Davis or a fourth corner to work in on the perimeter (or both).
The only real replacement for Hendrickson, of course, is Hendrickson himself, the best or second-best free agent on the market even after his injury-beset 2025. Everyone assumes the ship has sailed on the SS Trey in these waters. Given the fact Cincinnati paid him and he missed two-thirds of the season to injury, which validated the franchise’s hesitancy to pay him in the first place, it probably has. But his injury and age also open the door at least slightly for an unlikely re-signing.
There are a handful of older dudes like Joey Boss and Kahlil Mack who could come in for a season of rushing the passer, plus younger guys who have decent pressure rates in low snap totals, like Odefa Oweh or Boye Mafe. Flat-out dude edge rushers, like Hendrickson when he came to Cincinnati, are rarely available. Jaelen Phillips would be ideal, but there’s zero chance the Eagles let him go. The likelihood is two medium-sized players to team with Shemar Stewart and Myles Murphy and hope for the best.
Inside, a player like John Franklin-Myers of the Broncos would be ideal, even though he’s 29 and thus outside the usual range where the Bengals like to operate. He’s a monster on that great Denver defense, with seven-plus sacks and 15 QB hits in back-to-back seasons. This would be the splash signing of the offseason, and lord knows the Bengals need one at that position.
There are, are usual, plenty of safety options in free agency, hard as it may be to believe after watching Geno Stone play the last two seasons. Take your pick: Bryan Cook of the Chiefs, Kobie Bryant of the Seahawks, Kamren Curl of the Rams, et al. I floated the possibility of Budda Baker of the Cardinals being done in the desert a couple of weeks ago, and he’d be a nice veteran option if outside the age sweet spot for a long-term deal.
You can also go after a multi-dimensional linebacker like Quay Walker of the Packers, oft-injured pass rusher Nakobe Dean of Philly, or big play/poor tackling Devin Lloyd of Jacksonville. As with the edge rushers, there are few perfect players available, which is why they get to free agency in the first place.
Can I interest you in old pals who may well be available? There’s D.J. Reader, who isn’t what he was but is still a decent enough player and a much-missed leader. There’s Jessie Bates, who could well be a cap casualty in Atlanta. The Falcons did what Cincinnati did not by drafting impact rookie safeties Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman, thus making Bates expendable at his high price. Would either happen? The Bengals do love their reunion tours, so it’s of course possible. Unlikely, perhaps, but keep it in your vision on the horizon.
It will take a village to rebuild the team’s defense, and that doesn’t even count the draft, where the Bengals clearly need to select players with an eye toward contributing in 2026 and not the usual two or three years down the road. That luxury is gone. Is the player personnel department led by Tobin up to the task? The jury is very much out. I’ve made this comparison before, but Tobin is much like the GM of my beloved New York Yankees, Brian Cashman, a de facto family member of the Steinbrenners who’s been in the job forever and enjoys zero job insecurity despite consistently coming up short while possessing multiple advantages (payroll, great player, etc).
Tobin is not on anything close to a hot seat, but even Cincinnati ownership seems to belatedly realize the fans are clamoring for answers for his failures and thus have made him available at a rare press conference Friday afternoon. That isn’t a way of putting him into a more accountable spot, really, but at least the Bengals have taken off their noise-cancelling headphones and are acknowledging the pressure, a necessary first step.
Overall in 2025, Taylor was correct when he said, “I think what you were missing was your highest paid player on offense and defense, and that’s challenging holistically.” Burrow’s early toe injury was a shock to the system that the Bengals never recovered from, as teams seldom do when they lose their franchise quarterback. Their next biggest problem was closing games, and their elite pass-rushing closer scarcely played. In that context, this season’s crapitude made sense.
But the 49ers dealt with injuries to Brock Purdy (not quite as severe but still) and Nick Bosa and won a dozen games and are alive to make the Super Bowl in their home park come February. That’s the kind of organizational strength and coaching acumen the Bengals don’t even really aspire to, much less possess. The main takeaway from 2025 is that Burrow knows it, sees it, and can live with it … for now.
With that, thanks for reading as always! A fond farewell until our offseason meetups at the NFL Draft and summer camp.
Robert Weintraub heads up Bengals coverage for Cincinnati Magazine and has written for The New York Times, Grantland, Slate, and Deadspin. He guests on Mo Egger’s radio show every Thursday in the 4 p.m. hour. Follow him on X at @robwein.
Facebook Comments