{"id":26078,"date":"2025-06-17T23:08:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T23:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078"},"modified":"2025-06-17T23:08:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T23:08:26","slug":"breaking-news-cincinnati-bengals-defense-is-ranked-low-yet-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS : Cincinnati Bengals&#8217; Defense is Ranked Low Yet Again"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CharlieJones-1845441568-e1750195945554.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CharlieJones-1845441568-e1750195945554.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CharlieJones-1845441568-e1750195945554.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CharlieJones-1845441568-e1750195945554.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cincinnati Bengals' Defense is Ranked Low Yet Again\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Cincinnati Bengals\u2018 defense has been a sight for sore eyes for years now. Fox Sports ranked them the 25th-worst defense in the entire NFL last season and Pro Football Network had them even lower than that the last two seasons at No. 27 and No. 28.<\/p>\n<p>This year, they remain in PFN\u2019s basement, coming in at 28th in the NFL yet again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRemember in 2022 when this looked like a franchise with balance and staying power?,\u201d PFN writes. \u201cThey were our 11th-best defense that season and trending toward the elite tier of the conference, but with 27th and 28th Defense+ finishes since, Cincinnati has looked more like a one-trick pony over the past two years than a legitimate threat to the top tier of the AFC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2024, this was the second-worst run defense in terms of success rate, which needs to be corrected sooner rather than later. If they can\u2019t stop the run, things crumble from the inside out, and they have no chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Ranking may not even factor in the Hendrickson and Stewart situations<\/h2>\n<p>The Bengals\u2019 ongoing contract disputes with star defensive end and 2024 NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson and first-round pick Shemar Stewart are well documented. At times, they are downright entertaining when it comes to the ineptitude of this organization.<\/p>\n<p>But, it seems like PFN is assuming both are signed and playing, which right now they aren\u2019t (Hendrickson is signed, but holding out for an extension)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/external-preview.redd.it\/the-cincinnati-bengals-defense-needs-a-total-rebuild-v0-4grdEc-Z0HgkEOae6JKRw_1u2T1AO1n1Wa0qptC97hM.jpg?auto=webp&amp;s=68cd368b3dfd24209c4dd14dba0cd406255b29c4\" alt=\"The Cincinnati Bengals Defense Needs a Total Rebuild : r\/bengals\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrey Hendrickson is back, and edge Shemar Stewart was added with the 17th overall pick,\u201d PFN writes. \u201cDue to the offensive upside on this roster, this unit doesn\u2019t need to be one of the 10 best in the sport, but finishing in the bottom third of the league will cut out the legs of any long-term plans they were hoping for.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis defense will be under the most pressure to rebound in 2025. If that occurs, they will be a real contender.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s quite a big \u201cif\u201d considering Hendrickson and Stewart will be getting a slow start even if they are all settled before the start of training camp. And that\u2019s not even to mention that second-round pick Demetrius Knight II still isn\u2019t signed either. He\u2019s also fighting with the Bengals over contract language.<\/p>\n<h2>Bengals\u2019 2024 defense ranks low in most categories<\/h2>\n<p>Defenses can be ranked in a number of ways by a myriad of metrics. Some look at total yards allowed while others lean toward total points given up. The latter is probably the most telling stat; teams can let opposing offenses run up and down the field all day (not suggested however), but if they don\u2019t give up any points, who cares?<\/p>\n<p>In terms of yards given up in 2024, the Bengals weren\u2019t great, ranking 19th in the NFL with 4,016 yards surrendered, according to the league\u2019s official website. As for points allowed, they were tied for 25th (or 26th if you are a pessimist) with the Las Vegas Raiders.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just that the defense was awful, but the three guys that are most able to help this year aren\u2019t playing. Hendrickson wants a contract extension, Stewart just wants a fair deal commensurate with last year\u2019s first-round pick and, don\u2019t forget, second-rounder Knight still hasn\u2019t inked his rookie deal.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s fair to wonder what Bengals\u2019 management is thinking.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cincinnati Bengals defense is ranked No. 28 by Pro Football Network even assuming that Hendrickson, Stewart and Knight get into camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cincinnati-bengals"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING NEWS : Cincinnati Bengals&#039; Defense is Ranked Low Yet Again - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING NEWS : Cincinnati Bengals&#039; Defense is Ranked Low Yet Again - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Cincinnati Bengals defense is ranked No. 28 by Pro Football Network even assuming that Hendrickson, Stewart and Knight get into camp.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-17T23:08:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cincin-33.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078\",\"name\":\"BREAKING NEWS : Cincinnati Bengals' Defense is Ranked Low Yet Again - Breaking News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cincin-33.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-17T23:08:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-17T23:08:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cincin-33.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cincin-33.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING NEWS : Cincinnati Bengals&#8217; Defense is Ranked Low Yet Again\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"Breaking News\",\"description\":\"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\",\"name\":\"MrKen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrKen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING NEWS : Cincinnati Bengals' Defense is Ranked Low Yet Again - Breaking News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING NEWS : Cincinnati Bengals' Defense is Ranked Low Yet Again - Breaking News","og_description":"The Cincinnati Bengals defense is ranked No. 28 by Pro Football Network even assuming that Hendrickson, Stewart and Knight get into camp.","og_url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078","og_site_name":"Breaking News","article_published_time":"2025-06-17T23:08:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cincin-33.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MrKen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrKen","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078","name":"BREAKING NEWS : Cincinnati Bengals' Defense is Ranked Low Yet Again - Breaking News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cincin-33.png","datePublished":"2025-06-17T23:08:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-17T23:08:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cincin-33.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cincin-33.png","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=26078#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING NEWS : Cincinnati Bengals&#8217; Defense is Ranked Low Yet Again"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/","name":"Breaking News","description":"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15","name":"MrKen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrKen"},"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26078"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26080,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26078\/revisions\/26080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}