The Cincinnati Bengals showed their Sunday best. They also showed their worst.
That's been the 2026 season so far for the Bengals. So, who are they as the calendar flips to November?
That question remains unanswered after a half-dominant, half-dormant 35-13 road victory against the rival Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 25.
Is Cincinnati the Super Bowl-looking team that scored 35 unanswered points, diced up the opposing secondary and shutdown its opponent in the second half?
Or are the Bengals the slow-starting, underachieving, middling team that couldn't move the ball or stop a backup quarterback while falling behind
13-0 at halftime?
One thing's for sure: The magic elixir of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins kept the pitchforks earmarked for coach Zac Taylor in the shed for at least another week. Burrow threw four touchdowns, and Chase and Higgins combined for 210 yards receiving and two scores to keep the orange-clad diehards from calling for Taylor's job after this one.
But this team is flirting with the fanbase turning on Taylor, odd as that sounds with the Bengals improving to 4-2. The fans expected a Super Bowl contender and haven't seen that yet − except for maybe the second half of the Ravens game.
And the Bengals don't have an easy path down the stretch. Suddenly, an AFC North that looked very winnable entering the season has turned into the AFC's toughest division with both the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) and Cleveland Browns (5-2) proving to be overachievers so far.
What an odd game at Baltimore's M&T Banks Stadium. Would these questions even need to be raised if the Bengals spread those 35 points out across the entire game and they'd have played two decent halves?
The alarming thing is they looked so unprepared in the first half coming off a bye week. Two weeks to prepare for the Lamar Jackson-less Ravens, and backup quarterback Tyler Huntley carved up the Bengals and threw for more than 200 yards.
Meanwhile, the Bengals' supposedly high-octane offense had all their key players rested and fully healthy. Burrow threw for 43 yards in the first half, statistically one of the worst halves of his career. The Bengals had no energy. Players were walking on and off the field in what was deemed a must-win game, Enquirer reporter Kelsey Conway observed.
Cincinnati had to win this one to avoid falling to 0-2 in AFC North games, essentially falling out of the division race and dropping to .500 on the season.
The Bengals moped into the locker room as Dr. Jekyll. Chase, never afraid to say anything, apparently verbally lit into his teammates in the locker room at halftime. They came out of the locker room as Mr. Hyde.
"Ja'Marr went in there and got after everybody a little bit," Burrow told reporters. Chase "got everybody fired up. You know, that certainly plays a part. But at the end of the day, we just executed."
Burrow drove the Bengals 66 yards for a touchdown on the first drive of the second half. It was a surgical, nine-play drive in which Burrow connected with four different receivers, including passes of 19 and 10 yards to Higgins. The Bengals mixed in some runs to Chase Brown. It was a master class in staying composed, balanced and getting back to doing what they do best.
Then Burrow and the guys did it again on their next drive. And then again on their next drive. And then again on the next drive. Suddenly, the Bengals led 28-13 and one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL had gone silent.
The defense woke up, too. Cincinnati kept Derrick Henry and the Ravens' running game in check. Barrett Carter deflected a pass and Demetrius Knight picked it off in the fourth quarter to set up the final touchdown. Dexter Lawrence II got a sack and performed the "Sexy Dexy." It's so fun watching this team play when all facets are humming.
You take a win however you can get it in this league and get onto the next week. But remember, the Bengals rebuilt their defense and brought back all their offensive starters to try to bring this city its first Lombardi Trophy.
Was the second half the launching point for this team to go on a run? Or will the Bengals continue to tease their long-suffering fans and remain stuck being just an OK team?
For now, the story of the 2026 Bengals remains that they are consistently inconsistent.
Contact columnist Jason Williams at jwilliams@enquirer.com
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals remain model of inconsistency | Williams
