The Bengals Have a Major Problem That Isn’t Going Away

The Cincinnati Bengals have a tackling issue. Again. 

It’s especially prevalent in their linebacker corps, which the front office rebuilt with few additions through free agency or the draft, relying on 2nd-year players Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., who posted the 83rd- and 81st-worst PFF grades in the NFL last season as Cincinnati’s starters. 

The duo has combined for 11 missed tackles through four games, with Carter missing six and Knight missing five. They are in a small class of linebackers with at least 200 snaps who have missed more than five tackles through four games, and an even rarer class of players on the same team. 

Safety Jordan Battle, a starter for the Bengals through four games, has also missed five tackles, one of nine safeties to have five or more missed tackles this season. 

This was especially evident in week four for the Bengals, as they missed 12 tackles in a razor-thin game in which the Jaguars won 22-17. 

On 3rd & 18 in the first quarter, the Jaguars snapped the ball at their own 11. Cincinnati just needed to make one tackle to force a punt and give Cincinnati good field position on their way back down the field. Instead, Trevor Lawrence hit Brenton Strange, a tight end not known for being too elusive, over the middle of the field. Bengals safety Jordan Battle completely whiffed on an arm tackle, giving Strange an easy first down. 

The Jaguars then marched into Cincinnati territory and kicked a 55-yard field goal, taking a 3-0 lead. 

The Bengals were the NFL's worst tackling team last season, with Geno Stone leading the way with 26 missed tackles and Jordan Battle following with 21. Knight Jr. and Carter had 18 and 17, respectively, with Carter starting just 12 games. 

Cincinnati has currently missed 26 tackles across four games, good for the fifth worst mark in the NFL, with the 12 misses on Sunday accounting for nearly half of their season total. While Carter has a solid PFF rating just above 70, if the tackling issues persist, the defense will have a low ceiling. 

Ultimately, Joe Burrow’s turnovers and the tackling issues were too much to overcome against a good team like the Jacksonville Jaguars. When Cincinnati gets Bryan Cook back, the numbers should improve. He did not play on Sunday against Jacksonville after suffering an injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers in week three.