Updated: September 5th 2026. The season recap covers 2025; personnel sections look ahead to 2026. Includes Predictions, Projections and 2026 Complete Standings.
Leadership and Coordinators
- Owner: Mike Brown Brown is the Bengals’ president and controlling owner, with the Blackburn family deeply involved in executive operations. The club’s broad defensive reset signals urgency after three consecutive missed postseasons.
- Decision Maker: Duke Tobin Director of Player Personnel Tobin leads football personnel and roster construction. His 2026 mandate is unmistakable: build a defense capable of supporting Joe Burrow’s championship-level offense.
- Head Coach: Zac Taylor Taylor enters his eighth season under significant pressure after a 6–11 finish. His offensive partnership with Burrow remains a strength, but overall team balance and week-to-week readiness must improve.
- Offensive Coordinator: Dan Pitcher Pitcher begins his third year in the role. Cincinnati will remain pass-forward, using Burrow’s processing and Ja’Marr Chase’s coverage gravity while seeking more stability up front.
- Defensive Coordinator: Al Golden Golden’s second season comes with a dramatically rebuilt front. He must turn the new veteran group into a coherent rush-and-coverage structure after the league’s most damaging defensive performance in the division.
- Special Teams Coordinator: Darrin Simmons Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Simmons is in his 24th Bengals season and remains the staff’s continuity anchor. Coverage discipline and dependable specialist play remain his core priorities.
2025 Season Recap
Cincinnati finished 6–11, missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season and reached an uncomfortable conclusion: even a productive offense cannot continuously outrun a defense that concedes 492 points. The Bengals scored 414, but their minus-78 differential reflected a team forced into too many high-volume, high-leverage passing situations.
The season’s shape changed when Joe Burrow missed time. Cincinnati’s offense is built around his command at the line, anticipation and connection with Ja’Marr Chase; without him, the margin for error collapsed. Joe Flacco provided credible veteran relief and helped keep the passing game functional, but the Bengals were not designed to survive extended stretches without their franchise quarterback. Chase remained the coverage dictator, while Tee Higgins continued to punish isolated matchups. The passing game could still produce points rapidly, yet protection inconsistency and an uneven rushing attack made sustained control difficult.
The defense was the larger problem. Cincinnati struggled to stop the run without overcommitting resources, did not generate enough dependable pressure outside Trey Hendrickson, and too often exposed a changing secondary. Young defenders were asked to play major snaps, but development was uneven and communication lapses repeatedly became explosive gains. Golden’s first season as coordinator therefore became more evaluation than turnaround.
The season also sharpened the importance of ordinary downs. Cincinnati could create spectacular scoring plays, but too many second-and-long situations and too few early-down defensive wins made every game volatile. That lack of control, more than any single late-game mistake, separated the Bengals from steadier contenders.
Situational football magnified Cincinnati’s roster imbalance. When the offense failed to finish an early drive, the defense rarely supplied enough stops to reset the game. Opponents could stay patient on the ground, force extra defenders into the box and then attack isolated defensive backs. That pattern reduced the impact of the Bengals’ own explosive plays: Burrow and Chase could erase one deficit, only to see the next opposing possession restore it.
There were flashes that complicated the final record. Cincinnati went 3–3 inside the AFC North and delivered a convincing Thanksgiving win in Baltimore, demonstrating that the offense could still overwhelm a quality rival when possessions aligned. But the Bengals failed to sustain that level. A Week 12 loss ensured they could not improve on consecutive 9–8 seasons, and a later defeat eliminated them from contention. The club finished third because its division work was respectable while its broader conference performance was not.
The 2026 response has been unusually forceful. Rather than nibble at the defense, Tobin added Dexter Lawrence II, Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe, Kyle Dugger and Bryan Cook. Lawrence gives Cincinnati a premier interior defender and a long-term centerpiece. Hendrickson’s move to Baltimore is painful, especially within the division, but the Bengals chose a broader reconstruction instead of maintaining the old front.
For Taylor, the equation is now stark. Burrow and Chase give Cincinnati a championship-caliber offensive axis, and the front office has supplied Golden with experienced defensive talent. If protection remains adequate and Burrow stays healthy, the Bengals should score. The season will be judged by whether the remade defense can create neutral situations rather than forcing the offense into weekly rescue missions.
2025 Division Standing
- 1. Pittsburgh Steelers — 10–7 (5–1 division) — Lost WC PF: 397 · PA: 387
- 2. Baltimore Ravens — 8–9 (3–3 division) — Missed Playoffs PF: 424 · PA: 398
- 3. Cincinnati Bengals — 6–11 (3–3 division) — Missed Playoffs PF: 414 · PA: 492
- 4. Cleveland Browns — 5–12 (2–4 division) — Missed Playoffs PF: 279 · PA: 379
Cincinnati finished third in the AFC North. A 3–3 division mark included meaningful rivalry wins, but it could not offset eight losses outside the North or produce a playoff berth. Having Burrow miss half the season contributed to their poor record.
Notable 2026 Player Additions
- DT Dexter Lawrence II (trade, New York Giants) Lawrence’s power, pocket compression and run defense make him the centerpiece of Cincinnati’s defensive rebuild.
- DT Jonathan Allen (free agency, Washington Commanders) Allen adds veteran pass-rush technique next to Lawrence. The pairing should reduce the clean pockets that undermined Cincinnati’s coverage in 2025.
- EDGE Boye Mafe (free agency, Seattle Seahawks) Mafe brings speed and ascending rush production to a front replacing Hendrickson. He must prove he can carry a larger share of high-leverage pass-rush snaps.
- S Kyle Dugger (free agency, Pittsburgh Steelers) Dugger adds physicality, matchup flexibility and experience within the division. His best value comes near the box and against tight ends.
- S Bryan Cook (free agency, Kansas City Chiefs) Cook supplies range and postseason experience to a secondary that needed steadier communication.
- CB Ja’Sir Taylor (free agency, New York Jets) Taylor adds speed, special-teams value and competition in the slot and at the back end of the corner rotation.
Notable 2026 Player Losses
- EDGE Trey Hendrickson (Baltimore Ravens) Hendrickson was Cincinnati’s most reliable pressure source and now strengthens a direct rival. Replacing his finishing ability requires Mafe and the rebuilt interior to produce collectively.
- EDGE Joseph Ossai (New York Jets) Ossai’s rotational explosiveness leaves additional edge snaps available. Cashius Howell now has a faster route to the game-day rotation.
- S Geno Stone (Buffalo Bills) Stone’s departure removes ball production and familiarity from the secondary, though the additions of Cook and Dugger represent an intentional stylistic reset.
- CB Cam Taylor-Britt (Indianapolis Colts) Cincinnati loses an experienced outside corner whose play was volatile but whose physical skill set handled difficult assignments.
2026 Draft Class
- Round 2, Pick 41 — EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M Howell offers burst and a developed pressure résumé. He projects into an immediate rotation with a chance to grow into an every-down role.
- Round 3, Pick 72 — CB Tacario Davis, Washington Davis brings rare length for press coverage. Cleaner transitions and more consistent tackling will determine whether his traits become starting production.
- Round 4, Pick 128 — C Connor Lew, Auburn Lew started 25 college games at center and brings toughness and communication skills. He returned from an October ACL tear in time for camp, but the missed preparation makes his rookie development and availability important to monitor.
- Round 4, Pick 140 — WR Colbie Young, Georgia At 6-foot-4, Young gives Burrow another large boundary target. His path begins through red-zone packages and special teams.
- Round 6, Pick 189 — OT Brian Parker II, Duke Parker closed college with 26 consecutive starts and offers developmental tackle depth. Hand placement and anchor consistency are the main growth points.
- Round 7, Pick 221 — TE Jack Endries, Texas Endries is a receiving-oriented tight end who can compete for underneath and seam work while improving as an in-line blocker.
- Round 7, Pick 226 — DT Landon Robinson, Navy Robinson’s leverage, effort and service-academy discipline fit a rotational interior role. He must adjust to NFL size and blocking power.
2026 Spotlight Watch
- Hot Seat — Zac Taylor Three straight playoff misses have raised the standard for 2026. With Burrow healthy and the defense remade, anything short of serious contention will intensify scrutiny.
- Breakout Watch — Myles Murphy Hendrickson’s departure creates opportunity for the former first-round edge. Back-to-back sacks in joint practice showed that improved counters and urgency may finally be unlocking his physical gifts.
- Bust Watch — Connor Lew Lew was cleared after his ACL rehabilitation but began camp on a controlled workload. If the lost practice time delays his command of protections or keeps him from competing for a role, his rookie season could become largely developmental.
- Team Superstar — Joe Burrow Burrow’s accuracy, processing and late-down composure make Cincinnati dangerous whenever he is available. The organization’s competitive window remains tied to his health.
Predictions
The Cincinnati Bengals return to the playoffs tied with the best record in the AFC at 14-3. Unfortunately, they lose the tiebreaker to the New England Patriots and have to settle for the AFC’s 2-seed.
Below is the complete 2026 regular season projections.
