Cincinnati Bengals Defense Must Prepare a Bit Differently Ahead of Matchup vs Jets

CINCINNATI — The Jets have a major dilemma on their hands ahead of Sunday's game against the Bengals.

Head coach Aaron Glenn benched Justin Fields in favor of Tyrod Taylor during Sunday's 13-6 loss to the Panthers.

Which quarterback will start this week?

"Well that's something I want to continue to look at," Glenn said on Monday. "There's a lot of thought that goes into that for me personally. And then being able to get with the staff and then just being able to ask othert coaches that been in this situation how they handle that. I'm not running away from the question at all, Rich. The thing is I want to make sure I make the right decisions and I don't want to make rash decisions either."

Fields finished 6-of-12 for 46 yards. He also ran for 22 yards. Taylor completed 10-of-22 passes for 126 yards and two interceptions. Both quarterbacks led the offense on one scoring drive a piece that ended with two Nick Folk field goals.

“We needed a spark at that time. I felt it was the right time to do it,” Glenn said after the game.

This is significant news for a Bengals team that is trying to rebound after losing four-straight games (Weeks 3-6) without Joe Burrow.

They traded for Joe Flacco on Oct. 7. He started against the Packers five days later and led Cincinnati to a 33-31 win over the Steelers just nine days after the trade.

At 3-4 the Bengals feel like they have a legitimate chance of going on a run. Beating the Jets would get them back to .500. It would also give them renewed hope that they can turn it around and salvage this season.

Al Golden and this Bengals' defense needs to be better. That will start, at least early in the week, with preparing to face two different quarterbacks: Fields and Taylor.

One day after benching Justin Fields as his team fell to 0-7, #Jets coach Aaron Glenn says he’s consulting other coaches who have been in this position before deciding how to proceed at QB. pic.twitter.com/CFrq2W8fbO
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 20, 2025

History vs Taylor and Fields

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard (94) forces Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) down in the first quarter during a Week 1 NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Los Angeles Chargers At Cincinnati Bengals Sept 13 | Kareem Elgazzar via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Taylor is 2-1 as a starter against the Bengals. He led the Bills to a 16-12 win in Week 11 of the 2016 season. The Bengals beat the Bills 20-16 in Week 5 of the following year. Taylor also started in Burrow's NFL debut. He led the Chargers to a 16-13 win.

Fields has never started against the Bengals, but played significant snaps after Andy Dalton got hurt in Cincinnati's Week 2 matchup against the Bears in Chicago. Fields completed 6-of-13 passes for 60 yards and one interception. He also ran for 31 yards in Chicago's 20-17 victory.

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