Uncharted territory used to be a scary place. “Here be dragons” was something no one wanted to see on their maps. But we are, as Bengals fans, in mostly unfamiliar terrain after Cincinnati squashed Houston behind a dominant defense, 20-6, to go to 2-0 on the young season.
I struggle to recall a road game against a strong opponent that the Bengals won comfortably thanks to a monster performance by the defense, especially the front. The Bills divisional round game in the snow, perhaps? A 2021 win over the Raiders in Vegas? Even those didn’t feel so suffocating.
The last time Cincinnati held an opponent without a touchdown was back in Week 3 of 2022, when the Stripes squashed the Jets 27-12 thanks to four turnovers by New York’s starting quarterback … Joe Flacco! That 65-game streak was the longest in the league, now finished. And the way Dexter Lawrence and his friends played on Sunday, it may not be the last time it happens in 2026.
Ah, Dexter. There was a reason I wanted to profile the newest, largest Bengal in the offseason. No. 97 fulfilled all our hopes and dreams on Sunday, stoning run after run, shoving hapless interior linemen backwards, eating double teams, and generally shredding Houston’s game plan into mulch. Lawrence even dropped a few times into coverage and looked darn good doing so. Texans center Evan Brown and rookie guard Keylan Rutledge will have nightmares for weeks about Dexter.
On top of everything else, Dex was a fun Mic’d Up subject. “You’re blessed to be on the field with me!” is now my new go-to taunt in any situation.
The Bengals defense allowed just one single, solitary successful designed run on 15 attempts from the Texans, the lowest total and second lowest rate (6.7%) in a game since 2022, per @SumerSports. One! If it weren’t for a handful of C.J. Stroud scrambles, Houston wouldn’t have had a scintilla of progress on the ground. Every decision Texans coach DeMeco Ryans made stemmed from that. The 58-yard field goal that fell short stemmed from the fact that Houston was scared to go for it on fourth and inches because of Sexy Dexy, who turned away a fourth-down attempt earlier in the game.
Cincinnati married the astounding run defense with relentless pressure for the second straight week. The turnovers didn’t come this time, but they were charted in some places with 41 pressures! Those came not just from Lawrence but from fellow new additions Boye Mafe, Jonathan Allen, and Cashius Howell. Even deep reserves like Cedric Johnson and Kris Jenkins got frisky and, lo and behold, Shemar Stewart got a sack. You know things are working on D when that happens.
Yes, the Bengals gave up some empty-calorie yardage, got a bit fortunate on special teams, and still can’t cover tight ends. But the game was always going to be decided by how Houston ran the ball, and they could not. The domination on the ground ensured that Stroud became the first-ever quarterback to top 350 yards and throw no interceptions and yet not crack double-digits in points.
It was an excellent game plan from Al Golden, helped by Houston receiver Nico Collins being out with a hamstring injury. Cincinnati deployed numerous simulated pressures and drops to take away the in-breaking routes and force Stroud to the perimeter, where the D.J. Turner/Dax Hill combo easily bested Houston’s remaining wideouts.
The NFL is tracking a new defensive stat called “Havoc,” which is the percentage of plays a defense gets a pressure, a TFL, forces a turnover, or makes a pass breakup. After two games the Bengals trail only the Vikings in Havoc caused, with 46% of snaps being affected. Cincinnati has had the odd troublemaking defense in the past, but nothing quite like this, at least in a small sample.
The defense was so amazing that we had several incredible Joe Burrow-to-Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins moments and we aren’t even thinking about that. Well, to be fair, Uno’s first touchdown grab of the season was an all-timer—legitimately up there with the greatest catches ever made. You’ve seen it a million times by now, so I don’t need to sell it. And for a guy who was supposedly playing with back tightness, Joe Cool had multiple displays of Burrow pocket magic. Just another reminder to never bet against Joe as a road underdog.
It wasn’t a perfect performance on offense. Far from it. The Texans’ highly-paid front caused Cincinnati immense trouble on Sunday, especially in the first half. Orlando Brown in particular got his lunch handed to him by Will Anderson, Danielle Hunter, and company, to the point Burrow actually thanked Anderson for “popping his rib back into place” with a hit. (Reminder #588,493,850,584 that NFL players are different from you and me.)
Brown is a streaky player at a position where steadiness is preferred. Houston was obviously a tough matchup, but there are plenty more ahead, starting with Sunday and continuing through the likes of old pal Trey Hendrickson, Jared Verse, Josh Hines-Allen, etc. I’ve heard it floated that perhaps Amarius Mims, who had another A-game at right tackle, should move to the left side. But that isn’t advisable for multiple reasons—he’s dominant where he is, you hate to mess with that, and it isn’t an easy adjustment to make.
Exhibit A for the latter lines up across the line of scrimmage on Sunday in Pittsburgh, where the Bengals play the Steelers in their semiannual death match. Troy Fautanu had a good season at right tackle in 2025 after missing his rookie season to injury, but Pittsburgh flipped him to the left side for 2026, and the results have not been good. Guard Mason McCormick likewise flipped sides from right to left and has also struggled. Granted, two games is hardly a large sample, but Mike McCarthy had to be stress-eating all week after seeing Aaron Rodgers nearly get cut in half by the Patriots pass rush and then hear his quarterback kinda-sorta blame the coach for his travails.
The Steelers have been wretched on offense through 120 minutes, scoring one touchdown and just 16 points. (They had a pick-six in the opener.) Rodgers is 30th in QBR, 31st in DVOA, and, the most important number of all, a couple months shy of his 43rd birthday. He’s looked every inch of a final furlong dude so far. It will be important for the Bengals to hit him early and often and make him gun-shy and not allow the MVP muscle memory to kick in, presuming it still exists.
Pitt’s defense is still scary, topping the league in DVOA after two Sundays. J.J. Watt looks refreshed, and bookend rusher Nate Herbig, ageless tackle Cam Heyward, and the usual cast of suspects will make life hard on Burrow and the O-line. Remember that Havoc stat cited above? Pittsburgh is seventh. Granted, playing the Falcons and their abomination at QB and Drake May-be skew the numbers some, but we all know what the black and gold can do on that side of the ball. And this is without cornerback Joey Porter, still holding out in a contract dispute that, were this the Bengals, would be a national crisis. Obviously it would be nice for Uno and Tee to go against a JPJ-free secondary, though Tee in particular has scorched Porter in the past.
Cincinnati is 2-0 for only the 15th time in franchise history. They were 2-0 last season, of course, and we all know how that turned out. Burrow, at least for now, remains upright, so comparisons to 2025 are null and void.
The Zac Taylor Era has been defined by slow starts and strong finishes. Getting out to the outright division lead after a fortnight is, again, a strange new world. Here’s hoping the explorations continue apace.
Robert Weintraub heads up Bengals coverage for Cincinnati Magazine and has written for The New York Times, Grantland, Slate, and Deadspin. Follow him on X at @robwein.
