Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning, center, talks with center Ted Karras (64) and guard Dylan Fairchild (63) during the final minutes agains Jacksonville Jaguars at Paycor Stadium on Sunday, September 14, 2025. The Bengals move to 2-0 after beating the Jaguars 27-31. Cara Owsley/ The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dylan Fairchild Speaks On Minnesota Outing as Offensive Line Prepares For Next Brutal Matchup

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 12:11 PM ET

Dylan Fairchild echoed the accountability his offensive line peers have taken on this week following a horrific game on all fronts for that unit in a 48-10 loss to Minnesota.

Fairchild posted the worst performance yet in his short NFL career, logging a career-low 40.9 overall Pro Football Focus grade in the game. He allowed three quarterback pressures and had a lowly 35.7 run-blocking grade.

"I'm gonna just tell you right now, I think we own it up front," Fairchild stated about the day. "That's our job to block people and to create holes and to make it happen. So I put it on our back 1,000%. So it starts with us, and we have to be better. We've got to be more detailed, more keyed in on the fundamentals. And yeah, that's really what it comes down to. It's just the small things, the details."

The details are going to be ultra-imperative this week against a Broncos defensive front that's number one in quarterback pressure rate (39.2%) and sacks this season (12).

It's a massive challenge to overcome a week after the second-best pressure team (the Vikings) stole their lunch money.

"They got a good front," Fairchild noted about Denver. "Their whole defense is really good. They're good rushers. And they're well coached, you know. So I think just taking it again, like detail by detail, moment by moment, that's going to be the key."

Fairchild thrived in pass blocking during the Week 2 win over Jacksonville, but has performed pretty poorly besides that, as Cincinnati somehow fields worse guard play through three games than they did last season.

Any sped-up development from Fairchild showing through this week would be big for the Bengals' offense.

"We all know we need to be better. And they've done a great job of just being leaders of the room and telling us really what we need to do," Fairchild said about the veteran leadership on the offensive line. "Telling us that we need to get better on, those details. We need to be more focused on our just week-to-week preparation.