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The Cincinnati Bengals snapped a four-game skid and reversed course from losing eight of nine in a commanding 32-14 road win over the Ravens on Thanksgiving, but their defense needs to be on point yet again against the Bills on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Stymieing a banged-up Lamar Jackson in Baltimore is one thing. It’d bode well for the rest of the season’s home stretch to say the least if Cincinnati’s D can do anything like that at Buffalo against the seemingly indestructible Josh Allen.<\/p>\n
More than almost anything else, this anticipated Week 14 quarterback duel between Allen and Joe Burrow will come down to which defense fares better in an area of shared weakness.<\/p>\n
So yes, the Bengals are trending better on defense and were even before logging five takeaways on the recent holiday. That still doesn’t negate the tackling problem that’s plagued them the whole year.<\/p>\n
Cincinnati has actually struggled getting opponents to the ground for almost two years. A five-game winning streak to end the 2024 campaign made those numbers look a little better. It was a mirage based on what’s happened this year.<\/p>\n
It may surprise folks to know, though, that advanced data shows Buffalo’s renowned defense under head coach Sean McDermott is even worse than the Bengals in that area.<\/p>\n
\nYou know how bad the Bengals tackling has been on Defense?<\/p>\n
The Bills have a lower Tackling grade on PFF.<\/p>\n
They have missed 15.4% of their tackle attempts as a team.<\/p>\n
The Bengals have missed 13.7% of tackle attempts.<\/p>\n
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) December 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n