Leading up to kickoff of the 2026 NFL season, TeamFB7 is going in-depth on each team from its strengths and weaknesses to breakout players, intriguing rookies and overall predictions. Next up are the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 18 in our preseason power rankings.
Let’s just get it out of the way up top — the Cincinnati Bengals are our pick to be the most overrated team in the NFL this season.
The collective momentum behind the Bengals from NFL media, armchair analysts and even the usually sharp sportsbook oddsmakers is, well, utterly confounding.
Cincinnati is tied for the ninth best odds to win the Super Bowl (+1800), per DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Bengals now have better odds than New England (+1900), after the Patriots’ season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The same Patriots who actually reached the Super Bowl last year after a 14-3 regular season.
The Bengals also have better odds than the Denver Broncos (+2000), who reached the AFC championship game last year and got better over the offseason; the Chicago Bears (+2400), who won 11 games plus a playoff game in their first season under coach Ben Johnson; the Dallas Cowboys (+2500), who was Cincinnati’s twin (elite passing attack, putrid defense) but actually significantly upgraded their defense this offseason; and the Jacksonville Jaguars (+3000), who won 13 games and took the Bills to the wire in the playoffs;
The Bengals are tied with the Houston Texans, who have arguably the NFL’s best defense (1A or 1B along with the Seahawks, at least), who won 10 straight games to reach the divisional round of the playoffs last year and then upgraded their offense in the offseason.
This is absolute madness!
These are the same Bengals that have missed the playoffs three straight seasons and finished 6-11 last year. The same Bengals who gave up the second-most yards (380.9 per game) and third-most points (28.9 per game) in the league last season.
Can Joe Burrow Fix All The Bengals’ Woes?
The case for Cincinnati taking a leap forward in 2026 isn’t hard to dissect — it just doesn’t make as much sense as many seem to think it does.
Yes, star quarterback Joe Burrow is fully healthy after being limited to eight games by a turf toe injury last year. Sure, that makes a big difference! Burrow is a top five NFL quarterback, which goes a long way in a league with truly elite passers in limited supply, and fans remember him leading the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in 2021 and another AFC championship game in 2022.
They don’t seem to recall that the Bengals were just 5-5 in games he started in 2023 before he tore a ligament in his wrist requiring season-ending surgery. Or that he played the full season in 2024 when Cincinnati went 9-8 to miss the playoffs. Or that the Bengals went 3-3 after Burrow returned from the turf toe injury last year, including a loss to Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns.
But the Bengal believers will say none of that is relevant because the defense has finally been fixed!
Has it? Really?
Cincinnati Bengals Defense May Be Better But By How Much?
Cincinnati is getting excessive credit for acquiring three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants — at a steep cost of giving up the No. 10 overall pick in the recent draft. Lawrence is a massive obstacle in the middle of the defensive line, no doubt. He had 9 sacks in 12 games in 2024 (but only 0.5 in 17 games last season).
Absolutely, he’s a nice addition and upgrade. Paired with veteran free agent addition Jonathan Allen, a two-time Pro Bowl selection earlier in his career with the Washington Commanders (in 2021-22), the Bengals interior defensive line certainly got better.
But what about the rest of the unit? How did that get better?
Cincinnati had the very worst set of inside linebackers in 2025 … and decided to run it back. Second-year starting LBs Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. ranked 83rd and 85th, respectively, out of 88 linebackers graded by PFF last year. Oren Burks, who is next on the depth chart, ranked dead-last out of those 88 LBs. The other linebacker listed on the team’s official two-deep, Swayze Bozeman (heck of a name, we’ll give him that), has 9 total tackles in 9 games over the last two seasons for the Chiefs and Giants after going undrafted.
Tell us again how the Bengals — who gave up the most rushing yards in the NFL last year (147.1 YPG) — fixed their defense?
Cincinnati lost star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson in free agency to the Ravens, and while he was limited to just seven games in 2025 due to injury so thus not a major factor, he led the NFL in total sacks over the 2023-24 seasons with 35. Even with an elite edge rusher, those Bengals units ranked 25th and 31st in total defense, but imagine how bad they would have been without him (or just look at last season). The team also lost Joseph Ossai (5 sacks each of the last two seasons) in free agency to the Jets.
To replace that sizable void, the Bengals threw a three-year, $60-million contract at Boye Mafe, a rotational edge rusher for the Super Bowl champion Seahawks who played roughly half of the team’s defensive snaps while managing just 2 sacks in 17 games. Mafe had a career-high 9 sacks in 2024 when he played more than 70% of Seattle’s defensive snaps.
They also drafted Texas A&M EDGE Cashius Howell 41st overall to join Mafe, Myles Murphy (5.5 sacks last season) and 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart (11 tackles and 1 sack in eight games as a rookie), who missed most of this preseason with a hyperextended knee.
Excuse us for not seeing the dramatic upgrade there …
Ditto for the secondary. The Bengals ranked 26th last season in pass defense (233.8 YPG) and return starting cornerbacks Dax Hill, DJ Turner II and nickel Jalen Davis return. The team signed former Chiefs safety Bryan Cook to replace fourth-leading tackler Geno Stone (now on the Bills’ practice squad) and pair with leading tackler Jordan Battle (125 tackles, 4 INTs, 2 FF). They also added former Patriots/Steelers safety Kyle Dugger on a one-year, $1.4-million deal.
Is Cook and a diminished pass rush off the edge equating to a night-and-day difference to the Bengals’ pass defense?
So defensive coordinator Al Golden returns for a second season with a significantly upgraded interior of the defensive line, an uninspiring group of edge rushers, status quo with PFF’s worst-ranked trio of linebackers and one notable difference in the secondary.
That was the makeover that changes everything?
Many apparently seem to think so for some reason — consider us highly skeptical.
Cincinnati Bengals Reset
2025 Finish: 6-11
Head Coach: Zac Taylor, eighth season (52-63-1, 5-2 postseason, reached one Super Bowl)
Hot Seat Meter (0-10): 8
Offensive Coordinator: Dan Pitcher, third season (Taylor calls the offensive plays)
Defensive Coordinator: Al Golden, second season
Best Offseason Move: Acquiring DT Dexter Lawrence
It didn’t come cheap, though. The Bengals could have also gotten a needed potential difference-maker at edge rusher (Rueben Bain Jr.) or safety (Caleb Downs) with the No. 10 overall pick they gave up for Lawrence, but yes, he’s a big addition (literally and figuratively) and should transform the interior of the defensive line.
Worst Offseason Move(s): Overpaying EDGE Boye Mafe and sitting pat at LB
PFF had a favorable grade and evaluation of Mafe, while crediting him with at least 40 pressures in each of the last three seasons even if the Seahawks diminished his role last season and he mustered just the 2 sacks in 561 snaps played.
Mafe’s average annual contract value of $20 million ranks tied for 21st among edge rushers, per Spotrac., just ahead of Cardinals standout Josh Sweat (12 sacks in 2025) and not far behind Commanders’ free agent splash Odafe Oweh (7.5 sacks in 12 regular-season games for the Chargers last year plus 3 more in the team’s playoff game)
Maybe Mafe flourishes in a larger role in Cincinnati — the Bengals surely paid him according to that expectation.
We explained the linebacker situation. Cincinnati’s front office clearly believes in the development and growth possible from two rookies who were thrust into the fire last year. Maybe they’re right — maybe they aren’t — but wouldn’t it have made sense to bring in a veteran free agent to bolster the unit, either from a depth standpoint, as part of a rotation, etc.?
For instance, likely future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner remains unsigned despite totaling 162 tackles, 8 TFLs, 4.5 sacks and 2 INTs at age 34 last season.
Cincinnati Bengals Roster Breakdown
Biggest Strength: The passing attack with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins
The Bengals’ upside starts first and foremost with having one of the best trios driving their passing attack.
Burrow passed for 1,809 yards, 17 TDs and 5 INTS in his eight games last season. In 2024, when he played all 17 games, he set career-highs with 4,918 yards and 43 TDs (with 9 INTs).
Ja’Marr Chase is squarely in the conversation/debate for best receiver in football coming off a year with 125 receptions for 1,412 yards and 8 TDs in 16 games despite not having Burrow for half the season.
And Tee Higgins remains one of the better WR2s around, posting a 59-846-11 line in 15 games in 2025.
Biggest Weakness: Linebacker
The Bengals believe Knight, a second-round pick from South Carolina last year, and Carter, a fourth-rounder out of Clemson in that same draft, are still the future of the position for the team.
And there’s a lot riding on that optimism since the team did nothing whatsoever to bolster the unit this year.
Most Intriguing Rookie: EDGE Cashius Howell
Howell, an All-American at Texas A&M, was one of the best edge rushers in college football last year with 11.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in 13 games.
But he fell to pick 41 as the eighth EDGE drafted due to concerns after measuring in with shorter arms that the standard prototype for the position.
The reports out of Cincinnati’s preseason have been encouraging, though, and Howell should have a significant role in the rotation off the edges.
Breakout Player: RT Amarius Mims
Amarius Mims, the No. 18 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Georgia, has already logged two seasons as the Bengals’ starting right tackle. He and left guard Dylan Fairchild, a third-round rookie last year, received a lot of credit for helping stabilize what has been one of the weaker offensive lines in the league.
Last year, though, the Bengals only gave up 36 sacks (14th fewest in the league) after giving up 48 in 2024 and 50 in 2023.
Evaluating offensive line play is best left to those who crunch the film for every rep, so we’re putting our trust here in the folks at PFF, who had this to say about Mims’ development and potential to take it to another level in 2026:
“Mims’ second season in Cincinnati was decent on the surface with a 67.6 overall PFF grade, finishing with no higher than a 66.6 mark in both pass- and run-blocking. But Mims really hit his stride in the second half of 2025, earning an 81.0 overall grade from Weeks 12-18. In those seven weeks, Mims didn’t give up a sack and produced a 76.6 PFF run-blocking score.”
MVP Pick: QB Joe Burrow
If the Bengals live up to the expectations so many others seem to have for them, Joe Burrow would be squarely in contention for his first MVP award. That’s a big “if,” though.
Either way, if healthy (also a significant “if”), he’ll surely be the Bengals team MVP.
2026 Cincinnati Bengals Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) |
| Week 1, Sept. 13 | vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 2, Sept. 20 | at Houston Texans | 1 p.m. |
| Week 3, Sept. 27 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 4, Oct. 4 | vs. Jacksonville Jaguars | 1 p.m. |
| Week 5, Oct. 11 | at Miami Dolphins | 1 p.m. |
| Week 6 | BYE WEEK | |
| Week 7, Oct. 25 | at Baltimore Ravens | 1 p.m. |
| Week 8, Nov. 1 | vs. Tennessee Titans | 1 p.m. |
| Week 9, Nov. 8 (in Madrid, Spain) | vs. Atlanta Falcons | 9:30 a.m. |
| Week 10, Nov. 15 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | 8:20 p.m. |
| Week 11, Nov. 23 (Monday) | at Washington Commanders | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 12, Nov. 29 | vs. New Orleans Saints | 1 p.m. |
| Week 13, Dec. 6 | at Cleveland Browns | 1 p.m. |
| Week 14, Dec. 13 | vs. Kansas City Chiefs | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 15, Dec. 20 | at Carolina Panthers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 16, TBD (Flex Game) | at Indianapolis Colts | TBD |
| Week 17, Dec. 31 (Thursday) | vs. Baltimore Ravens | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 18, TBD (Flex Game) | vs. Cleveland Browns | TBD |
Cincinnati Bengals Season Prediction And Parting Thoughts
Season Prediction: 9-8
We’ve laid out our skepticism that the Bengals truly fixed their defensive woes, and for that reason it’s just hard to buy into the preseason hype that seems to be in abundance for a team with a hot-seat head coach coming off three straight years missing the playoffs.
