Cincinnati Bengals’ Defense Is Getting Better And Gaining Believers

The Cincinnati Bengals may have lost the game to the Houston Texans, but the defense is still winning believers. The Bengals defensive unit was spectacular under the lights on Monday Night Football. They came out firing on all cylinders and kept the game close enough to win until the final moments. The defense is getting better, and fans are starting to believe the hype.

The Bengals defense has had a major turnaround. During the first weeks of the season, the defense would give up huge chunks of yards and rely on making big plays to stop opponents. The Bengals were able to stay in those games and win because of the high-powered offense. Dalton and company simply outscored teams and kept the defense off the field with long ball control drives.

But now, the Bengals defense has every chess piece in place and has soared to the top. The Cincinnati Bengals have the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL. When the players returned to practice, they weren’t even aware of the news.

The players are quick to shift the praise to coordinator Paul Guenther. They credit him for the game plans that make them look good.

“Paulie G. is on another level,” Burfict admitted, per the Bengals website. “He schemes up the receivers, the O-Line. He picks up stuff like that so that we can use their weak link to our strong in pass protection.”

Guenther is making it look easy. The Bengals are steadily moving up the rankings, and he has become the quiet guru behind the scenes. But the players show enough fire for him.

Bengals’ cornerback Adam Jones was visibly upset during his interview with reporters. His passion was evident when asked why he was taking the loss to Houston personally.

“Because I’m one of the captains of the team, and when my number is called, No. 24 needs to make the play,” Jones proclaimed, not missing a beat. “I hold everybody in here accountable, and everybody knows that. When my number is called, I’ve got to make the play — period, point blank. Today, I didn’t make the play that could have won us the game. If they don’t score right there, they probably get a field goal and we go to overtime.”

This Bengals defense is determined and ready to set things off. There’s no placing the blame and making excuses. They win as a team and lose as a team. Their pride was hurt as a unit and they’re ready to bounce back. Defensive tackle Domata Peko wasn’t ready to accept the loss but was anxious to get back to work.

“It’s a tough time. It sucks,” Peko began, describing the Houston game. “Anytime you lose, it hurts. Especially after winning eight in a row, to catch our first ‘L’ against the Texans, it hurts. But guys in the locker room are already talking about bouncing back next week against the Cardinals.”

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The Bengals’ defensive players are aware that the Arizona game has evolved into a Palmer against the city of Cincinnati drama. Palmer was traded after a nasty holdout. But the majority of the players weren’t even around when things got ugly. As Peko said, the Bengals are more concerned with how to stop the entire team.

Guenther displayed a lot of looks on Monday night, and that’s sure to cause confusion with teams preparing for the Bengals’ defense.

“That’s the thing about our guys. They understand their fit,” Guenther says. “One play they may have to drop and not rush and we’ve got a good matchup and they have to go win. Another play it may be, hey corner, you’ve got no help on this one.”

The Cardinals will be a matchup that tests the Bengals’ defensive focus. The No. 1 scoring defense against the No. 1 offense is a duel made for prime time.

[Photo by Brett Carlson/Getty Images]