Superstars Can’t Save the Bengals: Inside Cincinnati’s Disastrous 2024

The 2024 Cincinnati Bengals defy logic. 

Their superstar quarterback returned from wrist surgery in Nov. 2023 and put up numbers that would put him in NFL MVP discussions in most seasons. 

One of their star receivers is having the best statistical year of his career. And their best defensive player led the league in sacks through 13 weeks. 

Yet, a dismal 4-8 record puts them far closer to the bottom of the AFC North than the top. 

Through the first 12 games, Joe Burrow led the NFL’s top-ranked passing offense in touchdowns (30) and yards (3,337). Ja’Marr Chase led all NFL receivers with 1,142 receiving yards to go with 13 touchdowns, already matching his career best. 

Defensively, Trey Hendrickson is having another stellar season. The Pro Bowl edge led the league with 11.5 sacks entering the final five weeks of the season.

Their premium players have been at their best in 2024, but the reason Cincinnati’s Super Bowl expectations crashed and burned is that the rest of the roster hasn’t been able to follow their lead.  

The 2024 Bengals have failed to play complementary football all season, winning just four of their first 12 games and conceding to watching the playoffs for a second straight season, just three seasons removed from a Super Bowl appearance and two removed from just missing a return trip in 2022.

How have the Bengals fallen so quickly with Joe Burrow at the helm?

It starts with a defense that has shown a baffling inability to tackle. The Bengals have had double-digit missed tackles in no fewer than five games this season, including 14 in a 44-38 loss to Pittsburgh in Week 13, allowing the slumping Steelers offense to come alive and put 518 yards on the Bengals. 

The Bengals have lost four games this season in which their offense has scored at least 33 points, including twice at home when they’ve put 38 up on the board. 

As is the case with any team, the Bengals have sustained key injuries from the start of training camp. 

They lost edge rusher Cam Sample on the second day of training camp.  

Starting corner Dax Hill went down in Week 5 with a torn ACL. They lost another starting corner in DJ Turner to a broken clavicle on Nov. 17. Free agent starting defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins has been dealing with a viral illness for several weeks and has played in seven games. Starting linebacker Logan Wilson is likely done for a month or the season to have knee surgery. 

And the play of third-year corner Cam Taylor-Britt has fallen off so rapidly that he has been benched twice before Turner’s injury forced him back into the lineup.

A sign with the single word “FINISH” in the upper deck of Paycor Stadium during the Week 13 game against Pittsburgh pointed to another issue that has haunted the Bengals in 2024. 

They lost three different 10-point, second-half leads to Baltimore in an overtime loss on Oct. 6. They couldn’t hold onto a 14-point second-half lead against Baltimore on the road on Nov. 7.  

They had three different seven-point leads at home against Pittsburgh. And lost.  

The Bengals are an abysmal 0-6 against teams with a winning record and just 1-7 in games decided by one score. The Bengals lost the lead late in Kansas City.

“We have to stick together, take accountability,” Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor said. “We’ve got good people in the locker room. think it’s normal for emotions to run high. But at the same time, we’ve just got to take accountability for anything we can and stick together and find a way to go find a win. 

The Bengals promised in training camp that their mission was to get off to a faster start with a favorable schedule in the first month of the season after starting 1-9 in their first two games under Taylor since he assumed command in 2019.  

Instead, they lost at home to the lowly New England Patriots to open the season, followed by a one-point loss to Kansas City and a five-point defeat to Washington at home.  

With the Super Bowl dreams for 2024 all but down the drain, there’s only one focus now in the final five games. 

“I think we’ll learn a lot about who we have in the locker room,” Burrow said. “The guys we can count on going forward, and the guys we can’t. The next (five) weeks will say a lot about who we can count on and who we can’t.”