Andrew Whitworth makes it painfully clear what the Bengals are missing

When I used to be Mo Egger’s producer at 700WLW, there was one show we did prior to the 2021 season where he made a bold prediction. Mo said that if the Bengals had a top-20 defense in 2021, they would finish with a winning record.

Well, we all know what happened in 2021.

The Bengals finished both 17th in scoring and 18th in yards allowed on defense in 2021, the year they went to Super Bowl LVI. In 2022, the Bengals were sixth in scoring and 16th in yards allowed on defense en route to playing in the AFC Championship.

Last year, they were 21st and 31st in scoring and yards allowed, respectively. This season, they are 28th and 24th in the respective categories. The Bengals were 9-8 and missed the NFL Playoffs in 2023. They’re 4-7 so far this season.

Replying to a tweet from Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic recently, legendary former Bengals left tackle and current Thursday Night Football on Prime Video analyst Andrew Whitworth had this to say about the state of the Bengals, particularly their defense.

“Said this when we were there for a preseason game. Just need defense to be middle of the road. That’s it. And they a SB contender,” Whitworth said on Twitter.

It’s mind-boggling to think that this defense hasn’t even get ONE stop at a critical juncture in any game. They couldn’t do it at all against Washington, the second half at home against Baltimore, or the fourth quarter at Baltimore. One stop in any of those games, and the Bengals may win all of them.

I will say this, though: The Bengals defense has shown some signs of life the last two weeks. Before the Ravens onslaught on Thursday night in Week 10, the Bengals defense held Lamar Jackson and Baltimore’s offense in check for two-and-a-half quarters.

Before the Chargers game-winning drive this past Sunday night, the Bengals defense had held the Los Angeles to just three points in the second half.

Linebacker Germaine Pratt is still confident despite the defense’s struggles. He has already expressed his thoughts about next Sunday’s home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pratt is one of the leaders of the Bengals defense. He’s seen the highs and lows going back to his rookie season in 2019. If his prophecy becomes true next Sunday, it just might be what turns the Bengals season around as it teeters on the brink.

Even just being a middle-of-the-pack defense, especially with a Bengals offense ranked sixth in scoring and ninth in yards, might be enough to propel the Bengals on a late-season run to the playoffs.