Sep 21, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) reacts after making a catch against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Cincinnati Bengals Tied Atop AFC North Standings, Despite Ugly Loss to Vikings

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By James Rapien | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 11:19 PM ET

The Bengals suffered an ugly loss to the Vikings in Week 3, but they remain at the top of the AFC North.

Cincinnati is 2-1 on the season, tied with the Steelers for the AFC North lead. Meanwhile, the Ravens and the Browns are 1-2. Cleveland shocked Green Bay with a 13-10 win over the Packers on Sunday.

The Ravens came up short against the Lions 38-30 on Monday Night Football in a battle of two of the top teams in the league.

Historic Loss

The Bengals lost to the Vikings 48-10 on Sunday. The 38-point defeat was the worst in franchise history.

Cincinnati is 2-1 on the year, but their two wins were by a combined five points, which means they have a -33 point differential.

"We can’t allow this beat us again. We have to turn this into a victory in some way, shape or form," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said on Monday. "We learn from all these turnovers, the lack of takeaways from our defense and grow from this. We have to be better going forward because of some of the mistakes we made. It is not a throwaway. You take those turnovers away, i can’t sit here and say we are going to win the game, that’s fantasyland to know how that was going to play out. There was enough stuff to be able to clean up fundamentally in all three phases to give ourselves a better chance to beat quality opponents going forward. There is enough all-around we can’t ignore that we have to clean up, even taking the turnovers out of the equation. We got to be a better team going forward. I’m very confident we’ll do that."

The Bengals are still very much in it. They aren't 0-3 like last season. They don't have Joe Burrow and they have a bunch of flaws that need to be fixed.

They're also tied for first place in the division and can right a lot of wrongs next week on the road against the Broncos.

Will they?

That's a question that only they can answer—on the field.