Why the Bengals Have No Playoff Appearances Since 2022 Despite Being One of Hottest Starting Offenses in NFL

There was a time when the Cincinnati Bengals’ slow-start problems were both macro and micro in nature.

That is, they were struggling to win games in the first two weeks of the season, and they were having issues scoring touchdowns in the first quarter of games, even ones they would go on to win.

Then in Week 3 of 2022, with the Bengals sitting 0-2 (and 1-5 in Weeks 1-2 under Zac Taylor), Burrow said he’d rather take the ball after winning the coin toss instead of deferring, and the Cincinnati offense built itself into one of the best first-quarter teams in the league.

From 2023-25, the Bengals were the No. 2 first-quarter offense in the league, based on points per drive with 2.53.

best first quarter offenses

1. 49ers
2. Bengals
3. Colts
4. Lions
5. Ravens
6. Bills
7. Eagles
8. Rams
9. Seahawks
10. Packers
11. Dolphins
12. Cowboys
13. Texans
14. Buccaneers
15. Vikings
16. Cardinals
17. Chargers
18. Falcons
19. Jaguars
20. Chiefs
21. Titans
22. Broncos
23.…
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 21, 2026

And that’s after the Bengals were a middling 18th in 2025 with 2.16 points per drive.

But not even being one of the league’s fastest starting offenses over the last three seasons has allowed the Bengals to find their way into the postseason even once.

You look at the other top 10 in first quarter points per drive, and Cincinnati and Indianapolis are the only teams that can say that.

Each of the other eight have at least multiple playoff appearances or wins, or both.

49ers (two postseason berths, three wins)

Bengals (none)

Colts (none)

Lions (two, two)

Ravens (two, two)

Bills (three, five)

Eagles (three, four)

Rams (three, three)

Seahawks (one, three)

Packers (three, one)

The Bengals also have been good in the closing stages of games, ranking eighth in points per drive in the fourth quarter with 1.87.

So how can they be sitting on a three-season run of missing the playoffs?

It all comes down, as you might imagine, to the defense, which was bad in the first and fourth quarter of games.

From 2023-23, the Bengals allowed 2.21 points per drive in the opening quarter, 10th most in the league.

And late in games, they weren’t much better, ranking last of 32 teams from 2023-25 with 2.16 points per drive allowed in the final quarter.

They allowed 2.35 last year, which was fifth most in the league.

And in 2024, they allowed 2.56, which was fourth most in the league.

The defense also has been bad in the middle quarters, allowed 2.14 points per drive in the second and third stanzas. That’s sixth worst in the league

So it really doesn’t matter if the Bengals continue to be one of the hottest starting offenses in the league if the defense can’t find a way to get consistent stops at some point, whether it be early or late.

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