The Cincinnati Bengals had yet another high-scoring game in Week 9. Powered by a resurgent Joe Flacco, the Bengals have been averaging more than 37 points per game in the past three weeks. However, the high scores haven’t translated into anything meaningful for the team.
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The trio of Flacco, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins produced 42 points against the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon. But their efforts were outdone by a 58-yard game-winning touchdown grab from the Bears‘ rookie tight end, Colston Loveland. Several members of the Bengals‘ offense were visibly frustrated after the game.
Chase was seen yelling, “One f**king stop,” while walking back toward the locker room. Chase Brown, the Bengals RB1, even decided to call out his teammates on defense while speaking with the media, imploring them to “finish the f**king game.”
Evidently, frustration levels are high in Cincinnati right now. And, according to Asante Samuel, it’s time for the front office to consider cleaning out some lockers.
“Every player on offense in Cincinnati has the right to be pissed off with the defense,” the former Super Bowl champion exclaimed in the latest episode of his self-produced podcast, Say What Needs to be Said.
“It is their fault. It’s their fault that the Bengals lost today… They were absolutely horrible… That’s just bad football. The Bears need a new secondary, and the Bengals need a new defensive line. The Bengals couldn’t stop a rookie running back… That’s just bad,” added Samuel.
The Bengals’ defense was bad in 2024. And the front office restructured Trey Hendrickson’s deal and spent the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Shemar Stewart, hoping that the two of them would be enough to anchor the unit. Unfortunately, neither one of them has produced.
After leading the league with 17.5 sacks in both 2023 and 2024, Hendrickson has only gotten to the opposing quarterback four times this season. Meanwhile, Stewart, who has yet to find the first sack of his career, didn’t even record his first hit on a QB until this week against Caleb Williams.
As a whole, the Bengals’ defense has given away a staggering 300 points in the first nine games of the season, which is easily the most by any unit in the league. The same is also true for total yards, yards per play, and first downs.
Throw in the fact that they are also the 10th most penalized defensive unit out there, and it becomes readily apparent as to why their teammates are growing increasingly frustrated.
Until the front office is willing to either open up its checkbook or make some serious changes, the trend of offensive players calling out their defensive teammates will likely continue. And who can blame them?
