Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Zac Taylor
Offensive Coordinator: Dan Pitcher
Defensive Coordinator: Al Golden
Special Teams Coordinator: Darrin Simmons
2024 Summary (W-L Record: 9-8)
Joe Burrow and the Bengals Offense “ruled the jungle” like Tarzan in 2024. Unfortunately, their defense played like Jane. And that ultimately kept the Bengals out of the playoffs for the second straight season:
To be fair, the defense did get their stuff together eventually. After allowing 28.3 points per game through their first 13 weeks (which was the 2nd most in the NFL), they allowed just 18.8 during their 5-game winning streak to end the season. For context, the 4th best scoring defense in the league last year allowed 19.2 points per game.
It was too little too late, though. They lost a staggering 4 games when scoring 33 points or more, which played a huge role in their 4-8 start. Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo was fired after the season.
The Bengals ultimately wasted an outstanding offensive season. As you can see above, Cincy finished in the top-10 in points and yards and had the #1 passing game in the NFL.
Joe Burrow had a career year, leading the NFL in passing yards, touchdowns, and completions.
Ja’Marr Chase led the NFL in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.
As a football fan, it’s comforting to know that last year wasn’t the last time we’ll get to see Burrow, Chase, and Tee Higgins together. All will remain Bengals for the foreseeable future. They’re a fun combination to watch if you’re not a fan of other AFC North teams.
And their quarterback is the gold standard when it comes to playing from the pocket:
Film Session: Joe Burrow's 2024 Season
Joe Burrow is the standard. He might not have the arm strength of Josh Allen. Or the speed of Lamar Jackson. Or the improvisational skills of Patrick Mahomes. But there is no quarterback who plays from the pocket better than Burrow.
Get a Founding Member Subscription to access this film session. And remember, a Founding Member subscription also gets you access to our playbook with over 80 breakdowns grouped by concept (e.g. passing game, running game, situational, coverages, pressures, etc.
Key Additions
RB Samaje Perine
RB Tahj Brooks (6th Rd, 193rd Overall)
TE Noah Fant
LG Dylan Fairchild (3rd Rd, 81st Overall)
RG Lucas Patrick
T Jalen Rivers (5th Rd, 153rd Overall)
DL Tedarrell Slaton
EDGE Shemar Stewart (1st Rd, 17th Overall)
LB Demetrius Knight, Jr. (2nd Rd, 49th Overall)
LB Oren Burks
LB Barrett Carter (4th Rd, 119th Overall)
Key Losses
RB Zack Moss
RG Alex Cappa
DL Sheldon Rankins
EDGE Sam Hubbard
LB Germaine Pratt
LB Akeem Davis-Gaither
CB Mike Hilton
S Vonn Bell
Receive breakdowns like this directly in your inbox by subscribing here:
Did They Address Their Holes?
The defense obviously had many issues in 2024. The biggest one was that they couldn’t get to the quarterback (25th in Sacks). That hurt them on 3rd down, where they ranked 23rd in the NFL, and in the the red zone, where they ranked 30th in the league.
So naturally, the Bengals made it a priority this offseason to sign their best pass rusher to a long-term deal.
Calm down, we can make jokes.
In all seriousness, the Bengals did set out to address this major hole by drafting Shemar Stewart with the 17th overall pick. Then they signed him right away so he could get acclimated to the defense immediately.
Sorry… That was the last one.
Jokes aside, the pass rush, and by extension their pass defense, is improved on paper with the Hendrickson-Stewart pairing.
Another area that the Bengals have been trying to address for years is their protection. It’s amazing how Burrow has been able to perform at such a high level despite constantly dealing with pass rushers in his face.
The Bengals’ key additions were to the guard positions. They selected Dylan Fairchild in the third round, who will slot in at left guard, and they signed Lucas Patrick, who will play right guard.
Burrow has some good evasiveness and can navigate the pocket as well as anybody, but it would be nice to see him get some room to step into his throws once in a while.
Biggest Questions Entering 2025
To me, there are two big questions for the Bengals this season - Can they avoid another slow start, and can the defense do its part?
The Bengals have started at least 0-2 in each of their last 3 seasons. As they learned in 2024, those early-season losses can create a hole they spend the entire season digging out of. Last year, they ultimately weren’t able to.
Clearly, it’s on their minds too as head coach Zac Taylor has had his starters getting more preseason reps than in previous seasons. We’ll see if it pays off.
The question about the defense is multi-faceted. Hopefully, Trey Hendrickson is ready to go right away. Will the pass rush be ready to tee off immediately?
The secondary is another big question, though. With Mike Hilton gone, the cornerback room is very young. It certainly didn’t help last year that Dax Hill, probably their best cornerback, tore his ACL and missed the final 12 games of the season. Will he be able to return to form in his first year back?
They’ve also really struggled at safety since losing Jeremy Bates and Vonn Bell after the 2022 season. Bell returned in 2024 but won’t be back this year. The safety position had been critical to the success Cincy had in Anarumo’s defense because of the disguise and variety of looks used, as well as the communication needed. That’s one reason why the Bengals struggled on D over the last two seasons.
And that brings us to new defensive coordinator Al Golden, who comes to the Bengals from Notre Dame. Before that, however, he was the linebackers coach under Anarumo during Cincy’s 2021 Super Bowl run. Which means you’re likely to still see somewhat of a similar defensive approach that provides a variety of looks and needs good safety play.
2025 Outlook
I have every reason to believe that the Bengals are going to pick up right where they left off last year on offense. It’s all about whether or not the defense can do enough to make them a serious contender. It would be a shame to see a quarterback as good as Burrow go the way of some of the other greats who didn’t get support on the other side of the ball for long stretches of his career.
I think the Bengals make it back to the playoffs this season. I still don’t think the defense is good enough to win a tough division or get them very far in January.
Check out our other team previews here:
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Commanders
NFC North
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals
Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
AFC East
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tennessee Titans
AFC West
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers