The Cincinnati Bengals are 2-0 after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home in Week 1 and then the Houston Texans on the road in Week 2. It’s the latter of these wins, though, that has turned heads. The Bengals scored 20 points, but that’s nothing special. What was special was their defense keeping the Texans out of the end zone throughout the entire game, and completely dominating the line of scrimmage all afternoon.
Now the Bengals have a shot to do something only nine teams have done in franchise
history—start a season off with a 3-0 record. They travel to Pittsburgh to open up AFC North play against the Steelers, who are coming into Week 3 with a 1-1 record.
But how important is a 3-0 record? Well, according to RotoWire, it’s a pretty good indicator of what’s to come.
“We sorted every team from 2016 through 2025 by its record through three games and tracked where each season finished,” wrote RotoWire’s Thomas Leary. “The table splits cleanly in two worlds: the 3-0 and 2-1 teams, who make the playoffs more often than not, and the 1-2 and 0-3 teams, who mostly don’t.”
Hopefully the Bengals will fit into the first category and remain unbeaten.
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Here’s what else is going on:
The next step of the Bengals’ offensive progression is clear to Zac Taylor, and it can change everything
“Explosive runs,” Taylor said during his Monday presser. “I think we are so close to some home runs, and they’re coming on eight-yard carries, nine-yard carries. We’re one bit of communication, or one block in the second level away from Chase [Brown] getting a one-on-one with the safety, and then we’ll see how that plays out.”
The Bengals will be wearing white jerseys and black pants on Sunday in Pittsburgh, according to Bengals.com’s Michael Hull. The combination has been worn 13 times since the new uniform unveiling in 2021, and have a winning record (7-6).
Chiefs, Bengals, Vikings head the surprise early contenders entering Week 3
The Bengals defense has been impressive for the second week in a row. This week, defensive coordinator Al Golden took advantage of the Texans’ weakened receiving corps without Nico Collins by using more press man coverage and calling several cover 0 blitzes. Their run defense against a physical Texans offensive line was exceptional. Nose tackle Dexter Lawrence could not be moved. He either held up against double teams, freeing up linebackers, or completely shut down runs on his own. Of course, run defense is a team effort, but Lawrence has been a monster inside. The Texans’ running backs rushed 14 times for 18 yards.
Inside Bengals CB Dax Hill’s Record Game
“Dax can do whatever you ask,” Burks says. “He’s probably our most versatile piece in the secondary. He’s playing corner at a high level right now. He’s had two back-to-back solid games. He’s been in great position.”
