Winners and Losers From Cincinnati Bengals' Horrific Loss to New York Jets

CINCINNATI — The Bengals lost to the Jets 39-38 on Sunday. Cincinnati blew a 31-16 lead and a 38-24 lead in the fourth quarter.

The Jets scored on three-straight possessions and converted two 2-point conversions to rally for their first victory of the season.

The Bengals are 3-5 on the season following the loss. Here are our winners and losers from the Bengals' heartbreaking loss:

Winners

Joe Flacco

Flacco played well again, completing 21-of-34 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. He finished with a 100.5 quarterback rating and hasn't thrown an interception in three starts.

He also became the oldest player (40) in Bengals' history to score a touchdown. He scored on a quarterback sneak in the first quarter that gave Cincinnati a 10-0 lead.

Bengals' Run Game

Oct 26, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) scores a touchdown during the second quarter against the New York Jets at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The Bengals' rushing attack was good on Sunday. Cincinnati ran for a season-high 181 yards. Samaje Perine had nine carries for 94 yards and a 32-yard touchdown run. Chase Brown had 12 carries for 73 yards and one touchdown. He also had three catches for 32 yards and another score.

Losers

Zac Taylor

The Bengals needed to get points on one of their final two possessions. They didn't. They went 3-and-out and turned the ball over on downs.

Couple that with Taylor's decision to run the ball on 2nd-and-10 with 42 seconds left and it's easy to see why he's on the losers list.

He's also responsible for the defense. He's the head coach. And the defense is awful. They're bad at tackling, can't rush the passer, they aren't fundamentally sound. That's a reflection of coaching and Taylor is the head coach.

Al Golden

Golden was brought in to get more out of the Bengals' young players. That hasn't happened. This defense allowed 502 yards of total offense to the Jets. New York has tallied 500+ yards of offense twice in the past 25 years (both against the Bengals).

It's unacceptable. This defense doesn't do anything well. They don't stop the run. They can't rush the passer and they struggle at forcing turnovers.

Taylor and Golden share blame. There's no way things should look like this, even with the lack of proven talent on defense.

Bengals' Pass Rush

The Bengals had one quarterback hit and never sacked Justin Fields on Sunday. They only hit Fields on a cornerback blitz with Cam Taylor-Britt.

They've given up the most points in the NFL and their lack of pass rush is a big reason why they can't get stops consistently. The Jets were 7-of-15 on third down and 2-of-3 on fourth down.

It's unacceptable. Even with Trey Hendrickson missing the entire second half with a hip injury.

Honorable Mention

Andrei Iosivas had a chance to make a huge play up the seam on the Bengals' final possession. It wasn't a perfect pass from Flacco, but it was a catchable ball. He didn't catch it clean and then got popped by two Jets defenders. Fast forward to fourth down and Flacco went to him again.

Iosivas didn't have much space, but it's a play they had to have. He was in a 1-on-1 matchup with Jarvis Brownlee Jr. That's a must-win matchup. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins were both double teamed on the final drive.

"They just doubled up me, Tee (Higgins) and left ‘Drei (Andrei Iosivas) one-on-one, and (ran) some blitzes," Chase said after the game.

The Bengals needed someone else to step up. Those plays have to be made with the game on the line.

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