Early on Super Bowl path last meeting, Burrow-less Bengals are struggling to score ahead of matchup with Lions
Allen Park — You couldn’t have possibly predicted it, but the last time the Detroit Lions saw the Cincinnati Bengals, they were on their way to the Super Bowl.
No one thought much of the Bengals going into the 2021 campaign. They had won just six games across the previous two seasons and had the third-worst Super Bowl odds, just ahead of the Detroit Lions. You know, a team embarking on another rebuild following the offseason hirings of general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell.
However, by the time the teams met in Week 6, it was clear the Bengals had something brewing. Sure, they were only 3-2, but the two were a pair of three-point defeats, including one in overtime to a pretty good Green Bay Packers team a week earlier.
In April that year, the Bengals opted to get second-year quarterback Joe Burrow a No. 1 receiver instead of an elite offensive tackle, selecting JaMarr Chase over Penei Sewell in the draft. The correct answer depends on your roster-building philosophy, but Chase gave them little reason to complain, racking up 456 yards and five touchdowns through his first five games.
Chase has earned Pro Bowl honors each of his first four seasons, was a first-team All-Pro in 2024, and is considered by many as the NFL’s best player at the position.
Cincinnati gained steam that afternoon, steamrolling the Lions, 34-11. Burrow was sharp, Chase paced the Bengals’ receiving corps, and Detroit’s offense continued to struggle mightily to open that season as the team fell to 0-6 on the year.
Four years later, so much has changed. That’s hardly surprising in a league where rosters turn quicker than the weather in the Midwest.
Burrow and Chase remain the franchise’s foundation, but the quarterback has taken a lot of sacks. Specifically, he’s been dropped behind the line 169 times in 61 starts since 2021. One of the five sacks he absorbed through two games this season resulted in a turf toe injury, which is expected to sideline him for months.
That means the Lions will likely see backup Jake Browning this week, assuming the Bengals don’t make a change under center after scoring just 13 points in two games without their star starter.
With Browning running the show, Cincinnati’s typically potent offense has been a disaster. They can’t run the ball, averaging a league-worst 2.6 yards per carry, and they’re not having any success moving it through the air either, ranking 30th in passing yards.
Despite jokes about the team’s offensive line, there have been earnest efforts to upgrade the unit. They’ve completely overhauled the group since 2021, inking offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to a big contract in 2023, signing guard Ted Karras in 2022, and using first- and third-round draft picks on a pair of former Georgia Bulldogs, Amarius Mims and Dylan Fairchild.
Clearly, the investments haven’t paid dividends.
Defensively, the Bengals haven’t been much better, ranking near the bottom of the league in yards and points allowed. It’s been a rocky transition from longtime playcaller, Lou Anarumo, who was fired after last season, to Al Golden, the former University of Miami head coach who spent four seasons with the Lions (2016-19), coaching the team’s tight ends and linebackers.
The unit has some familiar faces, namely defensive tackle B.J. Hill, linebacker Logan Wilson and All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, a mock trade favorite for at least 28 NFL fan bases the past year or so.
And like the offensive line, there’s been significant resource investment in the defense, particularly through the draft. That includes three former Michigan Wolverines — defensive tackle Kris Jenkins and cornerbacks Dax Hill and DJ Turner II.
That trio is complemented by defensive end Myles Murphy, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, safety Jordan Battle, defensive end Shermar Stewart and linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. Each of those players was selected in the first three rounds of their respective drafts since 2022.
Unfortunately, since finishing sixth in scoring in 2022, the unit has gotten progressively more porous, with no signs of improvement on the horizon. They’ve struggled to replace some high-profile pieces who left in free agency, such as safety Jessie Bates and defensive tackle DJ Reader, who signed with Detroit in 2024.
Super Bowl? Not the 2025 Bengals. They’ve plummeted from 20-to-1 preseason odds to 100-to-1. Without Burrow, they’re more likely to earn a top-10 draft pick for the first time since selecting Chase No. 5 overall in 2021.
With any luck, that one won’t hold out.
The Bengals' recent draft philosophy reminds me of the bad old days in Detroit. They draft players like Stewart and Murphy who have impressive measurables but spotty college production, then wonder why they don't play better now that they're drawing an NFL paycheck. And the few picks that actually pay off then get into public disputes with the front office and either get overpaid or leave--which of course leads to other guys leaving. All very familiar, but thankfully those memories are now a little harder to recall.
I really enjoyed this article…great background on Cincinnati! I had forgotten they selected Chase over Sewell. To borrow a line from an Indiana Jones movie, my comment to Brad is "You have chosen... wisely".