Bengals Defensive Stars Fall Flat Across Steelers Pro Football Focus Grades

A rough showing compared to the first two weeks.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) talks to an official after a play in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 3 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. The Bengals fell to 2-1 on the season with a 30-27 loss on the road. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Pro Football Focus grades are up for Cincinnati's 30-27 loss to the Steelers on Sunday afternoon. Mistakes in all three phases of the game shot the Bengals up in the game, all after they'd been pretty sound/clutch to start the season.

Starting on offense, the stars showed up in a big way. Tee Higgins led the way with a season-high 89.3 grade after being all over the field making plays. Ja'Marr Chase (84.5) and Joe Burrow (83.5) checked in next behind Higgins.

Dalton Risner (82.5) and Dylan Fairchild (74.9) had their best grades of the season at either guard spot.

Burrow had one of his best NFL games snap to snap, until his final snap fumble that fully sealed the loss. ESPN's Seth Walder noted he posted a career-high 95.4 ESPN QBR in the game.

"I thought we were pretty dang good," Burrow said about the offense. "We had a couple of penalties that set us back that we just can't have happen. Yeah, a couple of things procedurally that we've got to clean up that put us behind the eight ball a little bit. Overall, I thought we were pretty good."

The tight end room struggled, led by Drew Sample with an offense-low 38.4 grade. He was followed by Ted Karras (47.8), Dohnte Meyers (53.4), Erick All (53.9), and Tanner Hudson (55.3). All has struggled mightily since returning from a long injury absence, having yet to post a grade higher than Sunday's 53.9 grade.

Flashing to the defense, Things were pretty rough, with only Barrett Carter recording a 65-plus grade (68.1). 13 different Bengals graded at least 59 or worse on that side of the ball, including stars like Dexter Lawrence (58.8), injured Bryan Cook (33.2), and Jonathan Allen (33.5).

Boye Mafe (63.2) was the only other high-snap player besides Carter who performed at a palatable level on a defense that missed 10 tackles on Sunday and tallied 18 pressures after a record-setting 41 in Week 2.

All three phases of the game have to bounce back and start matching the offensive star trio's consistency. Check out the full grades here.

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