How Often Did the Bengals Allow First Downs on 1st-and-15 or Longer?

Getting the opponent behind the chains is a goal for every defense. Sometimes it’s due to a sack or tackle for loss on an early down. Sometimes it’s due to the opponent false starting or drawing a holding penalty.

During the recent call for stat queries, there was one touching on this subject.

X user @layneherdt wanted to know how many times the Bengals gave up first downs after the opponent had put itself in first and 15 or worse.

How many times did the Bengals give up a first down after the opposing offense was in 1st and 15 or longer. Felt like this happened a painful amount of times last year.
— LayneHerdt (@LayneHerdt) June 11, 2026

Well, there were 21 times in 2025 when Cincinnati opponents faced first and 15 or more.

And the results are probably what you expected – bad.

The Bengals gave up a first down on two-thirds of those drives (14 of 21).

They gave up points on 11 of them (52.3 percent).

By contrast, the Bengals offense found itself in first and 15 or longer 15 times.

They overcame it for a new set of downs eight times (53.3 percent)

And they finished the drive with points six times (40 percent).

Here is a look at each instance where the Bengals defense had the opponent in first and 15 or longer:

Week 1 at Cleveland Browns

1-20 at Cincinnati 38, 1:36 1Q

Browns quarterback Joe Flacco threw two short passes to get the team into third and 9, then DJ Turner II was flagged for pass interference.

Cleveland went on to have a 16-play touchdown drive capped by a 1-yard run that tied the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter.

1-20 at Cleveland 46, 12:36 3Q

The drive started at the Cleveland 31, and after the Browns initial first down they were called for holding setting up first and 20.

But Flacco hit Cedric Tillman for 13 yards on third and 9, and Cleveland would end up going 69 yards in 13 plays to take a 16-14 lead on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to Tillman.

Week 3 at Minnesota Vikings

1-17 at Cincinnati 39, 12:23 2Q

Carson Went hit T.J. Hockenson for 13 yards on first down, and the Vikings went on to convert third and 1. They reached the Cincinnati 17 before settling for a 35-yard field goal.

1-15 at Minnesota 18, 4:37 2Q

The Vikings got into manageable third and 7 before a false start and Kris Jenkins sack forced them to punt.

1-15 at Minnesota 48, 0:14 2Q

There wasn’t much time left before halftime to get a first down, but the Vikings did get enough yards for a 62-yard Will Reichard field goal.

1-20 at 50, 9:27 3Q

Wentz completed a 14-yard pass to Justin Jefferson and Zavier Scott ran for 11 yards and a first down.

The drive ended with a Jordan Mason 4-yard touchdown run for a 41-3 lead.

1-15 at Minnesota 38, 7:57 4Q

With backups in the game and the team in clock-killing mode with a 38-point lead, the Vikings ran it on first and 15 and again on second and 15 before throwing a short completion and punting.

Week 4 at Denver Broncos

1-19 at Cincinnati 49, 5:44 2Q

Bo Nix hit Troy Franklin for 23 yards on second and 17, and the Broncos later had first and goal at the 11.

But on fourth and 1 and the 2, Demetrius Knight intercepted Nix with 1:58 left in the first half.

1-25 at Denver 29, 8:18 3Q

The Broncos threw a 5-yard pass on third and 14 and had to punt.

1-24 at Denver 29, 14:27 4Q

A third-and-20 checkdown left the Broncos with fourth and 11, and they punted.

Week 8 vs. New York Jets

1-15 at New York 9, 10:43 3Q

A Breece Hall 9-yard run and Justin Fields 5-yard pass got the Jets into third and 1, where they cashed in with a 2-yard run by Fields.

The drive reached the Cincinnati 6 before New York settled for a 24-yard Nick Folk field goal to cut the lead to 24-16.

Week 9 vs Chicago Bears

1-15 at Chicago 47, 4:11 1Q

The Bears got it to a manageable third-and-5 situation, where Kyle Monangai ran 9 yards off right tackle for the first down.

Chicago worked into field goal range, but Cairo Santos missed a 47-yarder.

1-20 at Chicago 25, 5:22 2Q

The Bears again got themselves in a favorable third-down situation with four yards to go after a Caleb Williams completion to Colston Loveland for 3 yards and a scramble for 13.

A 10-yard pass to Cole Kmet gave the Bears a first down, and they would continue to drive for a 24-yard Santos field goal with 1:29 left before halftime.

Week 11 at Pittsburgh Steelers

1-20 at Pittsburgh 23, 0:55 2Q

A Myles Murphy roughing the passer penalty turned this into an instant first down.

A 31-yard pass to Darnell Washington – and embarrassment to Geno Stone – followed, and the Steelers eventually drove to the Bengals 7 before settling for a Chris Boswell field goal with 0:10 left in the half.

1-23 at Cincinnati 35, 5:19 4Q

The Steelers needed 23 and got 28 on first down when Kenneth Gainwell turned a screen pass into a big gain.

Two plays later, Rudolph hit Gainwell again for 5-yard touchdown and 27-12 lead with 3:40 remaining.

Week 12 vs New England Patriots

1-20 at New England 10, 12:39 4Q

Backed up in inside their 20 and clinging to a seven-point lead, the Patriots immediately erased first and 20 with a 23-yard pass from Drake Maye to Hunter Henry.

They would go on to drain 7:06 off the clock while adding a 19-yard field goal for a 23-13 lead with 5:55 left in the game.

Week 13 at Baltimore Ravens

1-20 at Cincinnati 46, 1:54 2Q

The Ravens got 10 yards on first down, but they ended up going three and out and punting.

1-20 at Baltimore 25, 0:07 3Q

Lamar Jackson hit Derrick Henry for a 44-yard catch and run to instantly erase being behind the chains.

The Ravens reached the 15-yard line, but Demetrius Knight intercepted Jackson on third and 9.

Week 14 at Buffalo Bills

1-16 at the Cincinnati 30, 3:46 3Q

After an 8-yard scramble by Josh Allen, DJ Turner II was called for illegal use of hands, giving the Bills a first down at the 17.

Later, they’d have first and goal at the 2 before Turner forced a James Cook fumble that Oren Burks recovered.

1-20 at Cincinnati 39, 4:53 left 4Q

The Bills needed one play, a 31-yard pass from Allen to Dalton Knox to set up first and goal at the 8.

Four plays later, Allen hit Jackson Hawes for a 3-yard TD with 3:03 remaining for a 39-28 lead.

Week 17 vs Arizona Cardinals

1-25 at Arizona 25, 0:41 2Q

With not much time to work with before halftime, it was a routine three and out for Arizona.

Add us as a preferred source on Google