Pro Football Focus Names Bengals One of Most Overlooked Teams of 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals are looking to make major noise this season. Even with the questions that remain on defense and on the offensive line at guard, Joe Burrow brings a level of play that makes this team dangerous.

The Bengals ensured Burrow would have his key playmakers in town for the foreseeable future when they signed reigning triple crown winner Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Mike Gesicki to long term contracts in March. The teams offense will be it's engine and with this core unit, they can beat any team in the NFL. Yet despite this some around the league have lumped the Bengals in with the likes of teams like the Dolphins, Texans, and Chargers.

Pro Football Focus believes the Bengals are one of the most overlooked teams heading into the 2025 season.

"Cincinnati lost seven of its 11 one-score games last season," Dalton Wasserman wrote. "The franchise was realistically only a handful of plays from having one of the best records in the league, even accounting for its plethora of flaws.

The Bengals may have ranked 29th in both pass-blocking and run-blocking along the offensive line and a 22nd ranked defensive grade, but that did not stop PFF from focusing on the true aspect of what makes the Cincinnati Bengals a dangerous team.

"Aside from Burrow throwing lasers all over the field to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the Bengals didn’t have many avenues to victory. Yet those three players are so good that the team managed to win nine games and just barely finish outside the AFC playoff picture in 2024," Wasserman wrote. "The Bengals can’t afford an extended absence from any of their offensive trifecta, but they are extremely dangerous when all three players are on the field. The offensive line is certainly still a concern, but Burrow does mitigate that by making extremely quick decisions. He doesn’t have control over a defense that struggled last season and is dealing with Trey Hendrickson’s ongoing tense contract negotiations. However, the defense played well during the team's five-game winning streak to end the season, ranking fifth in the NFL in PFF grade as a unit from Week 14 to Week 18."

PFF listed the Bengals rushing grade rank of 27th as well, but that area of the offense should be improved with the emergence of running back Chase Brown last season along with signing Samaje Perine and drafting Tahj Brooks in the sixth round.

Defensive Coordinator Al Golden will have to bring out the best in young players like Myles Murphy and Cam Taylor-Britt if the defense is going to be significantly better this season.

If Golden can elevate the young talent on defense, then expect the Bengals to be primed for a deep playoff run come January.

Check out Wasserman's entire breakdown here.