Locked On Bengals Hit - Quick Takes on the Cincinnati Bengals
Sep 23, 2026 · 10 min · 11 segments
Joe Burrow ignites Bengals Nation by comparing this year’s Cincinnati squad to the 2021 Super Bowl team, pinpointing the defense—not a high-flying offense—as the driving force. With stars like Dexter…
Evan StaceyHost
Let's talk about what Burrow said about this year's team looking like the 2021 Bengals.
He said that they remind him a lot of early 2021, the team that ultimately won the AFC Championship and reached the Super Bowl.
You try to stay in front of the sticks, not turn the ball over, kick field goals, you put points on the board, and we're going to win with our defense.
He said we're going to win with our defense, which is something that hasn't been the case for the past few years.
And so when you take a look at the numbers, comparing the 2021 defense, which had a lot of...
Which was a big reason why the Bengals ended up making it all the way to the Super Bowl was because of the defensive performances.
So through two games in 2026, the Bengals' defense has allowed 39 points, about 19.5 points per game.
So the Bengals' defense in 2026 actually has allowed less points per game than the Bengals' defense in 2021.
The 2026 defense has four takeaways compared to 2021's two, but the biggest difference early on is the sack production and pass rush production.
So Cincinnati's current defense is already creating significantly more havoc than the early 2021 unit that helped them go to the Super Bowl.
So now I'm not going to sit here and say that this defense is going to be a Super Bowl caliber.
Let's talk about what Burrow said about this year's team looking like the 2021 Bengals.
He said that they remind him a lot of early 2021, the team that ultimately won the AFC Championship and reached the Super Bowl.
You try to stay in front of the sticks, not turn the ball over, kick field goals, you put points on the board, and we're going to win with our defense.
He said we're going to win with our defense, which is something that hasn't been the case for the past few years.
And so when you take a look at the numbers, comparing the 2021 defense, which had a lot of...
Which was a big reason why the Bengals ended up making it all the way to the Super Bowl was because of the defensive performances.
So through two games in 2026, the Bengals' defense has allowed 39 points, about 19.5 points per game.
So the Bengals' defense in 2026 actually has allowed less points per game than the Bengals' defense in 2021.
The 2026 defense has four takeaways compared to 2021's two, but the biggest difference early on is the sack production and pass rush production.
So Cincinnati's current defense is already creating significantly more havoc than the early 2021 unit that helped them go to the Super Bowl.
So now I'm not going to sit here and say that this defense is going to be a Super Bowl caliber.
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