Stat of the Jay: Where Does Bills’ 38–0 Preseason Loss Rank, and Which Are Worst Ones in Bengals History?

CINCINNATI – Even for a preseason game, Sunday night’s result was jarring as the Chicago Bears trounced the Buffalo Bills 38-0.

It was tied with 2022 Philadelphia Eagles for the second largest margin of victory in a preseason game since at least 2015.

The Eagles lost a road game to the Miami Dolphins 48-10 that year.

The largest drubbing at least the last 11 preseasons was the Denver Broncos’ 41-0 victory against the Los Angeles Rams in 2023.

Like the 2022 Eagles, the 2023 Rams went on to make the playoffs, which should stem any panic in Buffalo.

But what about the Cincinnati Bengals?

As we wrote last week, they currently have a seven-game winless streak in the preseason, which is tied for the longest in franchise history.

What are their worst preseason losses of all time?

And did they occur in playoff seasons?

The worst preseason loss in the Zac Taylor era was last year’s 27-3 road loss to the Chicago Bears. And 2024, of course, was not a playoff season for the Bengals.

It was one of five double-digit losses since 2019, and four of them came in seasons in which Cincinnati didn’t reach the postseason.

The lone exception was a 36-23 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals in 2022.

The worst preseason loss in franchise history came in 2011. It was a 34-3 bludgeoning by the Detroit Lions in the first game of the Andy Dalton-A.J. Green era.

The Bengals went on to make the playoffs that year.

There have been four other losses by at least 27 points, and none of them occurred in playoff seasons.

1972 – 44-14 vs. Falcons

1983 – 34-7 at Lions

1999 – 30-3 vs. Bills

2004 – 37-10 at Falcons