The Detroit Lions are winning in all sorts of ways this season. From an offensive explosion against the Chicago Bears, to an impressive defensive showing against the Baltimore Ravens, and all three phases equally doing their part against the Cleveland Browns. The Lions are showing they are a complete team this season, and this week they now take on another AFC North team, its third in a row, in the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals are coming in 2-2 after getting destroyed by the Denver Broncos on “Monday
Night Football.” The biggest storyline regarding the Bengals is their franchise quarterback, Joe Burrow, being sidelined for months as he suffered a turf toe injury back in Week 2. He is expected to miss three months, and if the Bengals are out of the playoff race by the time he returns, he could miss the rest of the season. With him out, this team looks completely different, and the Lions will have to adjust how they attack this offense.
There is more to the team than Burrow for the Bengals, so let’s take a look at how the Bengals are doing this season for the Detroit Lions Week 5 scouting report.
Cincinnati Bengals
2025 season thus far (2-2)
Week 1: Defeated the Cleveland Browns, 17-16
Week 2: Defeated Jacksonville Jaguars, 31-27
Week 3: Lost to Minnesota Vikings, 48-10
Week 4: Lost to the Denver Broncos, 28-3
Stats:
- 30th in points scored, 27th in points allowed
- 30th in DVOA
- 30th in offensive DVOA (29th in pass DVOA, 32nd in run DVOA)
- 27th in defensive DVOA (27th pass DVOA, 26th in run DVOA)
- 18th in special teams DVOA
After an offseason that was filled with drama, when it came to the on-field play, the Bengals were aiming to return to the playoffs and potentially the Super Bowl. Burrow and company survived a scare against the Browns in Week 1 and had a better outing in Week 2. Once Burrow went down, though, the team’s future went up in the air. Against the Vikings, the team looked like the year was already over, getting blown out by 38 points. Even against the Broncos, it seemed like the Bengals couldn’t figure anything out on offense as they could only cross the 50-yard line twice the entire game.
Backup quarterback Jake Browning has been a rough project for them, throwing for 506 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions. He hasn’t seemed like the same backup he was back in 2023, but we are only two starts and three games into the season for him. Things could improve as the year progresses, but right now, this team is struggling offensively, and it starts with the quarterback play. When your quarterback isn’t playing well, it can affect the offense overall.
With teams not having to worry about the pass as much, they have started to focus on stopping the Bengals’ ground attack led by running back Chase Brown. Brown finally eclipsed 100 yards for the entire season after Week 4, with 133 yards and a touchdown on a whopping 57 carries (2.3 YPC). According to PFF, the Bengals have the worst running game in the league, with the lowest run grade (53.1) and run blocking grade (35). With the injuries up front, the running game has been impacted the most by how poor the offensive line has been.
The rest of the offense runs through wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, with help from tight end Noah Fant. Chase leads the team in catches (26) for 264 yards, with Fant behind him at 12 catches for 80 yards and Higgins with 10 catches for 136. All three have found the end zone only once. If Browning has time to get these guys the ball, he can make plays, but with him struggling to pass and having a poor pass-blocking unit, the receivers can’t do much.
The defense has been middling. Trey Hendrickson leads the team in sacks with only 2.0, but he is getting help elsewhere. Defensive tackles Kris Jenkins and B.J. Hill each have a sack (Jenkins with 1.5). Safety Jordan Battle has been doing it all for the defense, as he currently leads the team in tackles (32) and interceptions (2).
This defense needs to up its game if they want to have a chance to play meaningful football in December and January. They aren’t the worst in the league, but with the offense being handicapped, someone has to step up, and it’s on the defense to do so. The Bengals have allowed the third-most passing yards in the league (1,089), and things will get worse this week against Detroit.
Injury notes
Key players ruled out: QB Joe Burrow (IR), RG Lucas Patrick (IR), LG Cordell Volson (IR), TE Erick All Jr. (PUP)
Key players to monitor: TE Noah Fant (concussion), EDGE Shemar Stewart (ankle)
The Bengals aren’t just down Burrow so far this year; they are also down starting right guard Lucas Patrick, who was picked up in free agency, and depth guard Cordell Volson, who was a former starter for the team in 2024. The age-old debate from the 2021 NFL Draft of picking Chase over Lions tackle Penei Sewell still lives on as the offensive line struggles in Cincy continues, partially due to injury.
Fant missed last week’s game due to a concussion, and with him not practicing at all leading up to that game, he’ll have to make significant progress to play this week. Rookie EDGE Shemar Stewart missed last week with an ankle injury, so his status will be one to watch for this Bengals defense. The Bengals could really use him to assist Hendrickson on the edge and try to generate pressure on Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
Biggest strength: Wide receiver
The Bengals have one of the best duos in the NFL at wide receiver in Chase and Higgins at their disposal. While the quarterback position is the biggest struggle, if Browning or anybody else can make the throws to simply get either one of them the ball, they can make plays. Chase has been discussed as the top wide receiver in the NFL, with the Minnesota Vikings’ wide receiver Justin Jefferson behind or ahead of him, depending on who you ask.
Besides him is Higgins, who is another problem for opposing defenders. With Chase being on his team, it helps draw attention away from him. Both Chase and Higgs are big, physical wide receivers who aren’t afraid to jump up and snag the ball, or even get violent with whoever is guarding them to keep plays alive, and even score.
Biggest weakness: Quarterback
With Burrow out, the quarterback position is the biggest problem on this team. Browning has struggled this season, and once it was known that Burrow was going to miss significant time, the Bengals quickly tried to find another quarterback. They added Mike White and Sean Clifford to the practice squad to give them some help, but I don’t see either of the guys being a vast improvement from Browning. The Bengals are now stuck with lower-tier quarterbacks unless they want to make a trade for an upgrade that can keep their season alive.
Compounding issues for Browning is that the Bengals have arguably the worst run game in football. So it’s often on Browning alone to help move the offense, and that clearly isn’t a winning strategy so far.
Key matchup: Lions secondary vs. Bengals wide receivers
No matter who is under center for Cincinnati, Detroit’s secondary is going to have some trouble. First, the Lions’ two starting cornerbacks, D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold, left the game early last week and didn’t return. It’s unknown how serious each injury is, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell believes Arnold’s isn’t major and isn’t as significant as Reed’s injury. Campbell ruled out Reed, but said if Arnold misses this game, he would be back the next week.
With the Lions possibly down two starting cornerbacks, that brings Amik Robertson to the outside, and the other spot is up for grabs between the likes of Rock Ya-Sin and Khalil Dorsey. Robertson typically plays at nickel, but the expectation is for him to slide outside. If he does shift fully to the outside, the Lions now have another opening a nickel. They could move defensive back Avonte Maddox to nickel, or move safety Brian Branch to the spot. I would expect cornerback Ya-Sin to step in at the other outside cornerback spot if Arnold can’t go.
Chase and Higgins could take advantage of the banged-up Lions cornerbacks and force the safeties to assist them more than usual. The Lions’ safeties don’t always need to try and help other guys out; they can focus on their job. But when providing support with new starters, the chemistry may not fully be there. If the Bengals can move the ball through the air, we might have a shootout.
Vegas line for Monday: Lions favored by 10.5
