The Cincinnati Bengals ended the 2025 season in disappointment, falling well short of the NFL playoffs once again.

Since 2021 and their Super Bowl run, the Bengals have struggled to return to the playoffs and the height of the Joe Burrow era. But getting back there might be a bit simpler for the Bengals compared to other teams.

While the defense needs to be better, so too does the offense. And as Ben Baby of ESPN is urging, there is one play that could bring the Bengals back as serious Super Bowl contenders in 2026.

Bengals might be one play away from Super Bowl contention

“Cincinnati Bengals need to get back to their big-play ways,” Baby urged. This is a simple ask from Baby, but it could get the Bengals back to being a top contender.

Big plays, for the sake of Baby’s argument, can be considered as plays of 20 yards or more. The Bengals, since 2021, have struggled to get those kinds of plays.

Burrow’s inconsistent health does play a factor, but the overall offense isn’t producing those explosive plays that helped get them to the Super Bowl in 2021.

“The numbers bear that out,” Baby writes. “In 2021, Cincinnati was sixth in the NFL in percentage of offensive plays that gained 20 or more yards, according to ESPN Research. The rankings following that season – 17th, 27th, 21st, 20th.”

The Bengals are one of the more big-play oriented teams in the NFL with Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. But, in recent years, such big plays have been few and far between.

There’s still talent on offense, but they haven’t been able to generate such explosive plays the last few years, ranking in the bottom half of the league every season since their 2021 Super Bowl run.

If the Bengals can begin to generate more big plays in 2026, they should be in a better spot to not only return to the playoffs but also be a serious Super Bowl contender.

This past season, three of the four best teams remaining in the NFL playoffs were among the best at getting big plays, including the Seattle Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl thanks to some timely big plays.

While there are more problems for the Bengals than simply big plays, it’s still a huge issue that they need to fix in 2026, as it would be a huge boost towards their Super Bowl odds.