With the most important offseason underway for the franchise in recent memory, the leader of the defense described what went wrong last year and what needs to happen to prevent that this year.
Defense is the name of the game for the 2026 NFL offseason, if you’re asking the Cincinnati Bengals. After possessing one of the worst defenses in the entire league last season, it’s time to make major upgrades across the board to get this team back into playoff contention.
All three of the major voices, including general manager Duke Tobin, head coach Zac Taylor, and defensive coordinator Al Golden, have made strong statements regarding the necessity of turning the defense around this offseason. Now, it should be a matter of how they are going to get it done, and hopefully for Bengals fans, not if.
Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden and head coach Zac Taylor | © Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Tobin already announced his unwavering trust in the defensive coordinator, who is entering just his second season in the role. After seeing improvements throughout the second half of the season, the general manager feels that if he puts the right pieces around Golden to fulfill his vision, then fans can see an exponential difference.
When talking about last season, Golden admitted to a surprising lack of pressure coming from the defensive line.
“We have to build, this is the least amount of pressure I’ve had in forever by a long margin and the least amount of line stunts,” said Golden. “We made a lot of progress at the end of last year with that. Those guys settled in for us, and again, that’s my fault. We asked them to do more than we should’ve early on.”
Having consistent pressure from the defensive line is clearly one of the priorities for the unit next season. Last season, superstar edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and rookie first-round pick Shemar Stewart combined for just 15 games played out of a possible 34, which forced the Bengals defense to rely on reserves to call and follow the plays on the field.
This showed when taking a closer look at the stats from last season. The Bengals finished in a five-way tie for 22nd in sacks with 35, along with a 27th-place finish in quarterback pressures with 249. Such inconsistent pressure on the quarterback to make a play in a timely manner surely led to the Bengals' finish in opponent yards per pass and pass yards per game, which were 29th and 26th, respectively.
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Myles Murphy (99) | © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Missing the playoffs for a fourth-straight season cannot be an option for a team with Joe Burrow at the helm of the offense. If he can stay healthy along with his star teammates, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown, there is no reason that the offense can’t be the best in the league. Time will tell if the defense can turn into average at the worst, and lift this franchise back into Super Bowl contention.