Cincinnati Bengals 2025 Season Preview
By: Michael Higgins
(Image courtesy of Jeff Dean/AP Photo)
The Cincinnati Bengals had a historic combination of good offense and bad defense in 2024. The mismanagement of contract negotiations by Bengals’ brass has only worsened during the offseason. Trey Hendrickson wants out as the team is nowhere near matching his contract demands and Shemar Stewart is not reporting to camp due to them not wanting to guarantee any future money. It looks as though their defense will be just as bad, if not worse than they were last season.
Departures: We can presume that Trey Hendrickson will not be a Bengal by the time the season rolls around. OT Trent Brown, IOL Alex Cappa, EDGE Sam Hubbard, DL Sheldon Rankins, LBs Germaine Pratt and Akeem Davis-Gaither, CB Mike Hilton, and SAF Vonn Bell are among the rest of the impact players to not be returning to the team.
Additions: The Bengals brought in RB Semaje Perine, DL TJ Slaton, and LB Oren Burks on multi-year deals. Due to the team shelling out cash for their WRs, they did not have much room to spend on their defense.
Draft Selections: It can be argued that the Bengals reached with a few of their top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. They took EDGE Shemar Stewart (a player in which they refuse to pay for some reason) in the 1st round and LB Demetrius Knight in the 2nd round. Other notable selections include Georgia IOL Dylan Fairchild and Clemson LB Barrett Carter.
Season Predictions: Cincinnati is going to have to win shootouts against other teams as it is hard to see a situation in which their defense manages to win them a game. Three of their first four games are on the road as they take on the Browns at home to kick off the season, host the Jaguars, and then hit the road for games against the Vikings and then against the Broncos on MNF. The Bengals will start the season 2-2.
They play host to the Lions to start October before travelling north to battle Green Bay, return home for a TNF rivalry game against the Steelers, and host the Jets the following week. Cincinnati goes 2-2 in October.
The team hosts the Bears before a Week 10 bye. After the bye, they play the Steelers in Pittsburgh, host the Patriots, and play the Ravens in Baltimore on Thanksgiving. They go 2-2 in November.
The final stretch of the season sees the Bengals travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills, host the Ravens, play the Dolphins on the road, and end the season with two straight home games against the Cardinals and the Browns. The Bengals go 2-3 in this span.
Conclusion: I have the Bengals finishing the 2025 season with a record of 8-9. This would certainly be a disappointment to the team and their fans, but it is relatively on par with what the consensus outlook is on them. If they have multiple players on their defense take steps forward, then they could improve upon this 8 win prediction. The Bengals’ problem is that no matter how good the offense is, the defense is just as bad.
