Joseph Ossai, Bengals 'Not Panicking' Despite 2-4 Start To 2025 Season

CINCINNATI — The Bengals were close again to a win on Sunday, but no cigar for Joseph Ossai and his teammates against Green Bay in a 27-18 final. It was a tale of two halves as the offense came out flat to start, while the defense started hot and sputtered out.

Getting everything to execute at once has been a fleeting formula for Cincinnati. Still, they are 2-4 and can make a big statement in the AFC North against Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

"Offense came out and started making plays," Ossai said to FOX19's Joe Danneman. "That's our chance, and that's our turn to get stops when it matters, and just we couldn't, we just couldn't do that. So there are a lot of positives, we gotta take that and roll with it. It's a massive opportunity in front of us. Thursday night game, quick turnaround. The most disciplined team will come out on top, and we have to stay disciplined for a full two halves."

Ossai finished the game with four tackles and one for loss as he potentially takes on an even bigger role along the front. Cincinnati will need him to be even more impactful if Trey Hendrickson can't suit up with a back contusion.

Statistically, Hendrickson's been the team's only plus-pass rusher this season. Ossai is in the midst of his lowest-graded NFL season on Pro Football Focus (51.2 overall).

"I like what I saw, it's promising," Ossai said about the offense's second-half showing. "Good stuff from both ends. It's just we got to put those things together. You know, play complementary football, and nobody is panicking just yet, you know what I mean. So we'll be all right."

Cincinnati may have improved the defensive showing a bit yesterday, but it's still far from good enough out of Ossai and his peers. They allowed 6.8 yards per play to Green Bay, which would rank last in the NFL across a full season (Cincinnati is 29th overall this season, allowing 5.9 yards per play).

"Nobody is panicking just yet. It's tough, but the past is the past. If you want to stop losing, you've got to look forward."

90 locker room seconds with Joseph Ossai in Green Bay. pic.twitter.com/eOQvYstXWk
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) October 13, 2025

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