2025 Bengals: Cost Of A Wasted Season

First and foremost, another season in which this team misses the postseason would result in miserable morale. 2024 saw both Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase’s historically excellent seasons go to waste, and the only benefit to the team was their 17th overall draft pick. 

In fact, it was the first time in NFL history that a single team contained the league’s leading passer (yards and touchdowns), sack leader, and triple-crown winning receiver, and they still missed the playoffs. That’s three players who played their positions better than basically anyone else and still could not make the postseason.

If this team spends another season on the outside looking in, its players on the inside may start looking for a way out. It would be the third consecutive season having missed out on the playoffs, which would communicate to the players that this is not a winning organization. 

Especially considering the amount of raw talent that’s on this roster, the Bengals could very well opt to look elsewhere if this season again ends in a dead end. The big three have until 2029, but (if things continue to go as poorly as they have) they may just pull a Carson Palmer and demand out.

New Head Coach

It’s very realistic that, given Cincinnati misses the postseason again, head coach Zac Taylor is given the boot. His Super Bowl run was no doubt impressive, but it seems to have metaphorically handcuffed him to this team. 

For the past three seasons, time and time again, the Bengals have had a terrible offensive line, racked up a significant amount of penalties, and struggled mightily on defense. The latter was addressed with the hiring of Al Golden this season, but this doesn’t seem to be the problem. Cincinnati is struggling just as much (if not more) than they did under Lou Anarumo.

This would, of course, mean the problem runs deeper, and factors like the penalties and poor offensive line suggest it’s a discipline-related issue. At least it would for the fanbase, who’ve long been calling for Taylor’s job.

Even if the blame doesn’t entirely belong to Taylor, it would still fall on him as the head coach, who is often blamed for a team’s sustained failure. With a struggling team and an extremely unhappy fanbase, if Cincinnati’s season continues to go poorly, it’s hard to imagine Taylor would keep his job. 

Draft Considerations

The one good aspect of the Bengals playing poorly and missing the postseason would be a much higher draft pick, right? Even this consolation comes with downsides, as their recent first-round draft picks have been mostly ineffective in the team’s success.

Excluding Burrow and Chase (who were taken in 2020 and 2021), Cincinnati has used its recent first-round picks on defensive ends, offensive tackles, defensive backs, and the occasional center. The Bengals’ offensive and defensive lines are each atrocious in their own ways, and their defense has looked like maybe the worst in the league for the past two seasons. 

This matters because it means one of two (and maybe both) things: this team is bad at drafting talent, and/or they are bad at using said talent effectively. Whether either or both is true, it doesn’t instill the most faith that (granted the Bengals continue to play poorly) they will use their higher draft pick more effectively. 

Take Amarius Mims, offensive tackle, for example. Despite having the size, skillset, and all the talent in the world to succeed at his position, he’s still part of one of the worst lines in the league. 

When you hit on a pick like Burrow or Chase, a once-in-a-generation kind of player, they will succeed in essentially any situation they’re thrown in. The vast majority of the time, however, no matter how much talent and potential a player has, they need to be coached and employed properly within the game plan.

This team’s track record shows that they cannot do this, at least not at a consistent clip. Even if Cincinnati lucks out and gets the top overall draft pick, does history really show that it’ll make a difference?

A top pick like Burrow is different, as the quarterback is the keystone of the entire offense. If they chose a running back, wide receiver, or tight end of the same caliber, evidence shows that this still wouldn’t equate to more wins next year. 

Last year, the Bengals had one of the best offenses in the history of their franchise, and it still resulted in a season cut short. No matter how highly Cincinnati is compensated in the draft, there’s no reason to think it’ll move the needle for next season. 

End OF My Bengals Rant

This season has taken a terrible turn for the Bengals, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Bad seasons have bad ramifications, especially for a team with significantly higher expectations. 

In this case, this season going off the rails will likely result in an extremely dissatisfied, dejected, and demoralized roster, a coaching change, and possibly an essentially useless draft pick. This also isn’t taking into consideration how the front office has handled their extensions, which isn’t going to help lure any free agents into the jungle.

Things are looking grim in Cincinnati, and another disappointing season could very well signal the end of the success seen in the first few seasons of Burrow’s tenure. These outcomes aren’t good for the team, but they are looking more likely to happen than not.