The 2025 Bengals Showed Us Who They Are in Loss to Steelers: It's Time to Believe Them

CINCINNATI — The 2025 Bengals showed us exactly who they are during Sunday's 34-12 loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

An undisciplined, flawed team that can't tackle, struggles to create big plays on defense and is way too inconsistent on offense.

Translation: They're a bad football team.

They knew their playoff lives were on the line on Sunday. They knew they had to win to give themselves a realistic path to the postseason.

Despite knowing that, they came out flat, allowing their seventh touchdown on an opening drive this season. Of course, the offense answered, but their success was short-lived.

They followed up Tee Higgins' 28-yard touchdown with a missed 2-point conversion from the 1-yard line. Their next three possessions ended with punts.

The defense held up for a bit, but then the worst tackling team in NFL history showed up again. This time tight end Darnell Washington stiff armed Barrett Carter into the grass, before Geno Stone cowered before his poor tackle attempt.

Washington rumbled for a game-high 31-yard reception. That set the tone for the rest of the game. When Washington made that play it was 7-6. The Steelers outscored the Bengals 27-6 the rest of the way.

They did it without Aaron Rodgers, who didn't play in the second half due to a left hand injury. It didn't matter.

Mason Rudolph came in and completed 12-of-16 passes (75%) for 127 yards and one touchdown. The Steelers scored 10 points on offense in the second half.

Their defense showed up too. The Steelers kept the Bengals' offense in check all game long, but Kyle Dugger's pick six late in the third quarter broke the game open. Pittsburgh took a 20-9 lead.

Ja'Marr Chase lost his composure early in the fourth quarter, getting into an altercation with Jalen Ramsey. Chase denied spitting on Ramsey after the game, but the video clearly shows otherwise. Regardless, the Bengals got a break.

Chase stayed in the game, Ramsey was ejected. Surely the Bengals could take advantage of the penalty called on Ramsey that gave them the ball 1st-and-10 at the Steelers' 29-yard line. A touchdown would've made it a one score game with Rudolph, not Rodgers at quarterback for Pittsburgh.

The offense didn't score a touchdown. In fact, they ran six more plays, called two timeouts and moved back one yard to the 30-yard line before Evan McPherson kicked a 48-yard field goal to cut the lead to 20-12.

They desperately needed a turnover on the following drive. The Steelers calmly drove 65-yards on 12 plays and Rudolph found Kenneth Gainwell for a 5-yard touchdown.

The offense was bad. The defense was bad. The team is bad.

This is who the Bengals are. They've showed us over and over and over again this season.

They're 1-7 in their last eight games, which is tied with the Titans and Cardinals for the worst record in the NFL over that span.

Sunday's game in Pittsburgh was a must-win. Don't take my word for it. It's what the Bengals said internally and publicly.

it’s a must-win if we want to win the AFC (North)," Chase said last week. "Yeah, 100 percent.”

“We've got to just keep getting to who we are. Definitely it's a must-win," Higgins said before the game. "We could be sitting in good shoes.”

They aren't sitting in good shoes. They're sitting in 3-7 loafers with no padding or support. The most uncomfortable loafers of all-time.

The good news is the 2025 Bengals showed us who they are on Sunday in Pittsburgh. They're a bad football team. No "ifs," and no "well but's" are going to change that.

The 2025 Bengals are a bad football team.

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