Cincinnati Bengals 'Defining' Number For 2026 Season Success Revealed

Cincinnati needs to limit this number as much as possible this fall.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle T.J. Slaton Jr. (98) pulls down Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) in the third quarter of the NFL Week 17 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Arizona Cardinals at Paycor Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. The Bengals won 37-14. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Bengals' defense has taken up a lot of air space in recent years. It's been the biggest reason Cincinnati hasn't been able to get back to the playoffs, let alone the AFC Championship game or Super Bowl in over 1,000 days.

NFL.com's Matt Okada recognized that in full force during his exercise of picking the defining number for every NFL team this offseason.

Cincinnati's was 18,764. That's the number of total yards the defense has allowed since the start of the 2023 season. The most in the NFL over that span.

Stem The Bleeding

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears (2) leaps and holds the ball across the goal line while the Cincinnati Bengals defense tries to stop him from scoring during their game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

They have to start stopping the bleeding with some heavy reinforcements they brought in this offseason.

"Since 2023, the Bengals have allowed 18,764 total yards, the most in the NFL," Okada wrote. "They ranked 30th in total defense in two of the last three seasons and were unable to crack double-digit wins or make the playoffs in any of them. Cincinnati took action this offseason by addressing the defense with quality free-agent signings, its first two picks in the draft, and by trading for Dexter Lawrence and using its first two draft picks. If the moves pay off, the Bengals will again be dangerous in the AFC North."

Bengals director of player personnel, Duke Tobin, turned over all the free agency stones this offseason to make sure Cincinnati doesn't stay in the basement of this statistic.

Lawrence is joining names like Boye Mafe and Jonathan Allen on that defensive front. Cincinnati saw its defensive stuff rate (rushes of zero or negative yardage) land at 10.2% according to Next Gen Stats last fall. No defense has stuffed runs at a worse rate in the past five years.

"Championship caliber players who have played in big games, who understand how to play. The individual traits fit what we want to do and fit the vision of our coaching staff and fit the vision of what we have on the team already," Tobin said. "With Boye and Cook, they're young guys just hitting the stride of their career. So I don't even think they've hit their ceiling yet, and they've had a lot of success, and they've got championship rings, and they understand what it looks like. 

"They fit physically what we want them to be, and we were very happy that they were interested in us and we could make it work out. Same thing with Jonathan Allen. When he got released, he was pointing at us. He's a guy who can rush from the three-technique. Well, guess what we wanted? More rush from that position, and he's a guy who will bring others along. We need to have a wave of guys."

Check out all of the key numbers for all 32 teams here.

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