Zac Taylor can't ignore Bengals' fatal flaw to turn the season around

Doesn't take a guru of professional football to diagnose what's most wrong with the Cincinnati Bengals, but head coach Zac Taylor is either oblivious or defiant to what plagues his team the most. Taylor is doing a fine job in his own right calling the plays on offense, keeping the team afloat while stud quarterback Joe Burrow recovers from injury. However, the defense continues to be a thorn in the side of a team that's skidded to 3-6 after a 2-0 start. One beat reporter rolled up his sleeves and got dirty in the trenches to underscore just how bad the defense is. Turns out there's an easy-button way to improve the unit. Will Taylor do it? Maybe! Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic took a deep dive into how the Bengals' rookie class has negatively impacted the team in 2025. One of the most notable bits from it was how bad Shemar Stewart, Demetrius Knight Jr., and Barrett Carter have been while sharing the field: Not sure if Cincinnati's brass is just straight-up delusional about how good its first-year draftees