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After Another Crushing Loss, Bengals on Pace to Have Worst Defense in NFL History

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Craig Ellenport | Last updated Nov 2, 2025 6:25 PM ET

Joe Flacco’s fourth touchdown pass of the game Sunday gave the Cincinnati Bengals a 42-41 lead over the Chicago Bears with just 58 seconds left. Plenty of time for just about anyone against what is proving to be an historically bad defense.

Sure enough, after two incompletions and a 14-yard scramble by quarterback Caleb Williams, the Bears had a first-and-10 from their own 42 with 25 seconds left. That’s when Williams found rookie tight end Colston Loveland for a 58-yard touchdown, Williams’ third of the day. Final score: Bears 47, Bengals 42.

The result spoiled a career day for the 40-year-old Flacco, who passed for 470 yards to go along with the four touchdowns. But as the Bengals have proved all season, no lead is safe no matter how well the offense plays.

The Bengals have allowed at least 27 points in eight straight games. They’ve allowed at least 31 points in five of their last seven. It was just one season ago that the Carolina Panthers set the NFL record by allowing 534 points. Cincinnati is currently on pace to allow 567.

Is it possible to trade an entire defense at the deadline? #Bengals
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) November 2, 2025

More notably, the Bengals are making every opposing quarterback look like Johnny Unitas.

Williams completed 20 of 34 passes for 280 yards and those three TDs, and he added 53 yards rushing on just five carries. A week prior, beleaguered New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields had 275 yards of total offense (244 passing, 31 rushing) and a touchdown as the Jets got their first win of the season.

Here’s a rundown of how the rest of Cincinnati’s opposing quarterbacks have fared:

Week 1: Before the Bengals traded for him, Flacco opened the season as the Cleveland Browns starter. Flacco completed 31 of 45 passes for 290 yards and one touchdown, though he did throw two interceptions as the Bengals held on for a 17-16 victory.

Week 2: Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 24 of 42 passes for 271 yards and three TDs, but he also threw two picks as the Bengals improved to 2-0 with a 31-27 win.

Week 3: While the Minnesota Vikings cruised to a 48-10 win, it wasn’t all the defense’s fault. Minnesota scored two defensive touchdowns to pad the score. Veteran Carso Wentz only passed for 173 yards, but he did throw two touchdowns and no picks.

Week 4: In a 28-3 win, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix completed 29 of 42 passes for 326 yards and two TDs, and added a rushing touchdown as well.

Week 5: Jared Goff was near perfect as the Detroit Lions won, 37-24. Goff completed 19 of 23 for 258 yards and three TDs. Adding insult to injury, running back David Montgomery also threw a TD pass.

Week 6: Well, Aaron Rodgers can make any defense look silly, right? The Bengals did manage to end their four-game losing streak with a 33-31 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Rodgers completed 23 of 34 passes for four touchdowns.

The Bengals get a break next week – they’ve got a bye before facing Rodgers and the Steelers again in Week 11. After that, they face Drake Maye, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson twice.

Unless things change for the better soon, the 2025 Bengals might stake a claim as the worst defense in NFL history.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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