Joe Burrow had the best season of his NFL career in 2024, throwing for 48 touchdowns and 4,918 yards, yet the Cincinnati Bengals did not even make the playoffs for the second year in a row. Despite averaging nearly 28 points per game, the team could not muster up more than nine wins, and that wasn’t enough to win the division nor to earn a Wild Card spot.
Burrow and the offense are not completely blameless, of course. The Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots, who finished the season with just four wins, was a shocking and inexcusably bad performance. But for the rest of the year, the offense did enough to win. It was the defense that often gave up far too many touchdowns and it was for this reason that former defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was fired.
Will the 2025 NFL season be any different? That’s the question that ESPN’s Dan Graziano asks when it comes to Burow and the Bengals in his latest article. Regarding Cincinnati’s defensive outlook, he writes: “But a defense that finished 27th in defensive EPA rendered the offense's performance irrelevant, as the Bengals finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs. New defensive coordinator Al Golden should be able to overhaul some things and make improvements. But if the Trey Hendrickson contract dispute drags into the season, it's going to be tough for Cincinnati to stop opposing offenses once again.”
Graziano hits the nail on the head, and opens the door to even more intriguing questions. The ongoing contract dispute between the front office and star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson (and rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart, as well) is simply embarrassing. The Bengals’ defense was alarmingly bad a year ago, and the team appears to be playing hardball with arguably the only part of that unit who has earned his keep thus far.
At this point, it looks like Burrow could set NFL records and win unanimous MVP only to see it all be for naught as the team repeats its 9-8 record from last season. If the Bengals can’t make Hendrickson and Stewart happy, the 2025 season promises to be another long one for Burrow, the rest of the players, and the fans.