Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland (84) catches a pass and runs for a go ahead touchdown as Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. (44) and Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Josh Newton (28) attempt to stop him in the fourth quarter of the NFL football game between Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Nov. 2, 2025. Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cincinnati Bengals By The Numbers: Unpacking Another Ugly Performance on Defense

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By James Rapien | Last updated Nov 2, 2025 8:35 PM ET

The Bengals lost to the Bears 47-42 on Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium to fall to 3-6 on the season. They've lost back-to-back games and fall to 1-6 without Joe Burrow.

How bad is it? Let's take a look at the numbers.

The Bengals have scored 80 points combined in their last two games. They're 0-2 in those contests. They're the first team to score 38+ points in back-to-back games and lose both since the 1966 Giants according to ESPN insights.

The Bengals' defense has been dreadful. They failed to get a stop after the offense found a way to score 15 points in 49 seconds to take a 42-41 lead. Cincinnati was in position to steal a victory. Their defense had other plans.

Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland hauled in a 23-yard catch, broke Jordan Battle's tackle and rumbled into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with 17 seconds left in the game. The 58-yard score put an end to the Bengals' chances of going into the bye week with a win.

The Bengals defense missed 15 tackles for 133 additional yards against the Bears, including 35 yards on Loveland's game-winning 58-yard touchdown according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Cincinnati entered Sunday with 94 missed tackles for 645 yards, both most in the NFL.

The Bengals allowed 576 yards. They've allowed 500 or more yards in back-to-back games. The 2018 Bengals are the only team in NFL history to give up 500+ yards in three-straight games.

Cincinnati has given up 27 or more points in eight straight games. The NFL record is nine. Rookie running back Kyle Monangai ran for 176 yards on 26 carries. It's the fifth running back to top the 100-yard mark against the Bengals this season. The 176 yards and the third most by a rookie in franchise history and the most by a rookie in the NFL this season.

One Score Taylor

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor falls to 23-34-1 in one score games. He's 2-2 in one score games this season.

"I just can’t believe it. Can’t believe it," Taylor said after the game. "The game was right there, and we just don’t find a way to get it done. The game was right there, and all we have to do is make one play. Just one play, and some of these losses turn into wins. So again, as coaches, we just have to spend this week finding a way to help everybody and get it done, because this is ... it's sick. It's sick to lose like that. That's what happened. So we have to own it and we have to keep finding ways to improve and keep finding ways to find a way, because the last two weeks, that hasn’t happened."