With a chance to get back to .500 and climb out of one of the ugliest four-game losing streaks imaginable, the Bengals hosted the 0-7 Jets—a team missing several of its top players—and promptly gave up 39 points to the worst offense in the NFL.
Instead of heading into their Week 9 matchup with the Bears at 4-4, they’re 3-5 and guaranteed a losing record heading into the bye. On paper, the difference between 4-4 and 3-5 doesn’t look massive, but the gulf between them feels enormous because of how this
one fell apart.
Joe Flacco and the Bengals’ offense did their part, putting up 38 points—usually enough to win in the NFL. This feels all too familiar. The 2024 Bengals had the same problem: 33 points against Washington in Week 3, 38 against Baltimore in Week 5, 34 against Baltimore again in Week 10, and 38 against Pittsburgh in Week 13. They lost all four of those games.
The difference this time is who they lost to. Those previous defeats came against legitimate contenders—the Ravens with Lamar Jackson, a Steelers team that went 10-7 and made the playoffs, and a Commanders squad that reached the NFC title game. This one came against the 0-7 Jets, without Sauce Gardner or Garrett Wilson. That’s not just bad. That’s soul-crushing.
So, is this the worst loss in franchise history?
There have been others that broke hearts—the 2015 playoff meltdown, the Super Bowl losses, the AFC title heartbreak—but this one might be the most demoralizing as a fan. This is the kind of loss that makes people question why they keep showing up. More than one fan I talked to after the game said they were stepping back. One texted me simply: “Yep. I’m pretty checked out.”
Is that how you feel right now? Are your Sundays opening up, or are you still all in? No one could blame you for taking a mental-health break from this team. At the end of the day, it’s just a game—and it’s hard to keep giving your heart to something that never gives back.
Still, if you believe in patterns, here’s a fun fact: the Bengals also lost to the Jets in Week 9 of the 2021 season—then lost to the Browns before the bye. After that? They went on a tear all the way to the Super Bowl.
Maybe that’s the only thing these two teams have in common. But hey, history repeats itself in weird ways.
Random Week 9 thoughts:
- The idea that this Bengals team would be in great shape with Joe Burrow is laughable. Maybe they’d be above .500—but not a Super Bowl team. Maybe not even a playoff one.
- Remember when Vegas set the Bengals’ over/under at 9.5 wins and fans called it “hating”? Turns out, Vegas just wasn’t wearing orange-tinted glasses.
- At a normal franchise, this kind of loss costs the head coach his job. The Bengals, of course, are not a normal franchise.
- Beating the Steelers on Thursday Night Football just to lose to the Jets the next week? That’s peak Bengals.
- The Bengals can’t tackle.
- Barrett Carter is a freak athlete with a bright future next to Demetrius Knight Jr.—but he still makes rookie mistakes.
- Without Trey Hendrickson, there is no pass rush. First-round rookie Shemar Stewart is producing sacks exactly like he did in college.
- A great secondary doesn’t matter if quarterbacks have all day to throw. Somebody will get open.
- The Bengals can finally run the ball. It doesn’t matter, but at least my fantasy pick of Chase Brown looks good.
- Their inability to stop the run keeps killing them. Want to keep Burrow, Chase, and Higgins on the sideline? Just run the ball.
- It’s probably too early to fire Al Golden. It’s not too early to fire Zac Taylor. How thin can his ice get?
In the end, this loss doesn’t total the 2025 season, but it absolutely lets the air out of the tires. It’s fixable, but it’s not going to be easy.
Personally, I don’t have much faith that the Bengals will figure it out after this.
Do you?
Love hurts, love scars
Love wounds and mars
Any heart
Not tough or strong enough
To take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain
