This might be one of the more depressing editions of this series since I started doing them. After a 48-10 beatdown, there isn’t much good to talk about for the Bengals. There were a couple of positives sprinkled in, but in such a bad loss, the negatives, needless to say, were there in abundance.
The Good:
DT, Kris Jenkins
Jenkins was probably the brightest spot for the Bengals. He is someone who the team has needed to take a step forward. After a quiet first couple of weeks, he tallied 1.5 sacks in week 3. The Vikings poor offensive line does need to be factored in, but this at least could be something to build on.
DE’s, Myles Murphy & Joseph Ossai
Murphy and Ossai were sort of in the same boat as Jenkins. Quiet to start the year, but had some nice moments rushing the passer in this one. Like with Jenkins, the Vikings poor offensive line is something to consider. But with Ossai picking up a sack and Murphy adding 0.5 to his stats, perhaps this can be the start of more consistent production.
LB, Oren Burks
Burks was pretty consistent on a day where not everyone performed well. He was actually very solid against the run, as well as in coverage. I would not be surprised to see him get that starting spot beside Logan Wilson in the coming weeks.
TE, Drew Sample
This one could be debated, as Sample’s primary job is to block, and he wasn’t great in this area. However, I’ll throw him a bone here. He caught the team’s only TD on one of his two catches on the day. His 2 catches combined for 20 yards. Not eye popping, but nobody on the offence stuck out in much of a positive way.
The Bad:
QB, Jake Browning
It wasn’t a good day for Browning, who made his first start of the season. He threw for only 140 yards, and his 2 interceptions were part of a flood of turnovers committed by the Bengals offence. One was returned for a TD, which ended up setting the tone for the day.
TE, Noah Fant
Fant made a handful of catches, but his fumble in the 1st half proved to be very costly. The Bengals were down 14, but driving, and looking to cut the lead down to 7. But after making a catch and turning upfield, Fant had the ball punched out, and this fumble was returned for a TD. In an instant, the idea of being down 7 was out the window, and the reality became a 21 point deficit. This was the moment where it really felt like there was no coming back.
WR, Ja’Marr Chase
The star receiver led the Bengals in receiving, but it was only a modest 5 catches for 50 yards. Modest by his standards, anyways. My bigger problem, however, was the fumble that he committed in the 1st half. By this point, the train was already off the rails, but this just added fuel to the fire.
RB, Samaje Perine
As tired as I am of talking about turnovers and fumbles, it continues here. After Fant and Chase fumbled late in the 1st half, Perine found a way to squeeze in one more. This led to a Vikings field goal.
G, Dylan Fairchild
Fairchild was abysmal in this one. He gave up a good handful of pressures, but was somehow even worse as a run blocker. An all around bad game for the rookie, who will look to bounce back in week 4 against the Broncos.
C, Ted Karras
Karras is having by far his worst season as a Bengal, and possibly his worst as a pro. Karras gave up even more pressure than Fairchild, and wasn’t much better in the run game. The veteran will need to find the consistency that earned him a contract extension during the offseason.
OT, Orlando Brown
Brown was at least half decent in the run game, as he usually is. But he was awful in pass protection. Maybe not as bad as Karras or Farichild, but at a level that is far below where a starter should be. Speed around the edge has long been an issue for him, and this issue has persisted so far in 2025.
Run Blocking
The run blocking was so bad, I feel the need to further point it out after just talking about three offensive linemen individually. Chase Brown had zero room to run, and was often contacted in the backfield.
HC, Zac Taylor
Despite the struggles to run the ball, Taylor didn’t shy away from his plan of run, run, pass, punt. That is, when the team wasn’t turning over the ball. Things always look like they will improve during the offseason, but when the regular season rolls around, his offence somehow seems to become more vanilla than it was in the previous season. And this isn’t a matter of having Browning at QB. If anything, he calls a worse game when Burrow is in. Patience is wearing thin, and Taylor should firmly be on the hot seat.
CB, DJ Turner
Turner was beaten a handful of times, and some of them were strikes down the field. His inconsistencies in coverage continue. Turner also had a missed tackle charged to him in this one.
LB, Demetrius Knight
Knight continues to struggle in coverage. To start the year, he has put up decent stats as a tackler, but his play against the run has also been up and down. In week 3, it was pretty bad. He did miss a tackle, but the issues largely go beyond that point. It starts earlier in the play when he is getting washed away by blocks.
DT, TJ Slaton
Slaton was brought in by the Bengals to help against the run, but did not do so against the Vikings. He was handily outperformed by Mike Pennel, the ladder of which was brought in just before the start of the season.
S, Jordan Battle
Battle has had a solid start to the season, racking up a couple of interceptions. However, he had some blips in coverage, and also committed a couple of missed tackles. He has shown much better this year, and I’d expect more good than bad from him going forward.
