A messy loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers might be just the shot of reality the Cincinnati Bengals needed to keep them level-headed and hungry long-term.
In the immediate, it pushed them down the rankings of every major media outlet.
Here is where the Bengals fall in the Week 4 power rankings along with how many spots they dropped.
Yahoo! Sports — No. 12 ↓7
“The Bengals are getting it done everywhere with Joe Burrow and the offense but they need to get more consistent in pass defense to match.” – Frank Schwab
USA TODAY — No. 17 ↓11
“An unanticipated
defensive breakdown regressed them to a 2-1 record and a four-way tie atop (at the bottom?) of the AFC North.” – Nate Davis
NFL.com — No. 8 ↓5
“Cincinnati’s hyped defense took a big reputation hit Sunday when it allowed Aaron Rodgers to turn back the clock.” – Nick Shook
Pro Football Talk — No. 7 ↓4
“You can’t beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh by repeatedly shooting yourself in the foot.” – Mike Florio
Sports Illustrated — No. 13 ↓7
“Losing to the Steelers, an offense that I felt was one of the worst in the NFL over the first two weeks, was incredibly disappointing.” – Conor Orr
Sporting News — No. 12 ↓6
“The Bengals are getting it done everywhere with Joe Burrow and the offense but they need to get more consistent in pass defense to match.” – Vinnie Iyer
ESPN — No. 12 ↓3
“Brown has just one touchdown, with a season high of 18.8 fantasy points in Week 1 against the Bucs.” – Ben Baby
CBS Sports — No. 14 ↓10
“The defense came back to reality in the loss to the Steelers. They now face a tough Jaguars offense at home this week.” – Pete Prisco
New York Post — No. 11 ↓6
The author, Ryan Dunleavy, did not provide a blurb for the Bengals.
