Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Bengals Wasting Prime Talent? – NFL Analyst Criticizes Cincinnati for Failing Superstar in His Prime

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

As we come closer to the start of the 2025 NFL season, and look forward to yet another thrilling season of football, one can’t help but wonder what is going on with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Here is a team that arguably has a top 3 quarterback in the league, along with the greatest duo of wide receivers, and yet no confidence that they will make the postseason. How does this happen, and is quarterback Joe Burrow missing out on a stellar career by being in Cincinnati?

Joe Burrow since he got in the NFL: pic.twitter.com/qHTCGPDxs7
— Wincy (@WincinnatiPod) August 7, 2025

To answer these questions, we have to analyze what Burrow has done up to now and where the Bengals are falling short. Remember, this was a team that once defeated the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs and reached a Super Bowl, but ever since then, they have been on a downward spiral that seems difficult to stop.

How Has Burrow Kept the Team Within Striking Distance?

Ever since Burrow entered the league as the number one overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, he has been doing his thing. Sure, his rookie year didn’t go too well from a team standpoint, but Burrow led the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance the following season.

In 2022, he once again had an amazing season, leading the team to a franchise-best 12-4 record. And while injury hampered him in 2023, he balled out in the 2024 season, putting up career-best numbers of 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns, that too with a completion percentage of 70.6.

The Truth about the Bengals 2024 Season : The Bengals squandered one of the greatest QBing seasons of all time. Joe Burrow’s numbers & play couldn’t be touched by anyone. pic.twitter.com/yUVARXsLir
— Wincy (@WincinnatiPod) June 8, 2025

He and the offense put up 30 or more points in 8 of their 17 regular-season games, but the defense also gave up 30 or more on 6 occasions. During a segment on ESPN’s ‘GET UP’ show, NFL analyst Louis Riddick answered the one burning question on whether the Bengals are wasting Joe Burrow’s talent.

“As measured by getting to Super Bowls and being true Super Bowl contenders? Of course they are. The young man does everything that he possibly can,” said Riddick.

Riddick also added, “He’s a top two, top three most talented thrower in the league if you kind of measure him on all by every measure that you can, as far as using advanced metrics. Joe Burrow is that guy. But there’s no doubt that the organization right now is failing to build a strong 53-man roster that can compete with the elite teams in the NFL.”

.@LRiddickESPN believes the Bengals are wasting Joe Burrow's brilliance.

"As much as we want to pin Cincinnati's shortcomings on the quarterback … we know that this isn't the case here." pic.twitter.com/AAffq6uTUw
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 13, 2025

What Are the Main Issues Hampering the Bengals?

As far as the Bengals’ offense is concerned, it has done well to either keep the team in games or to come through for the win. The issue at hand is the overwhelmingly sloppy defense that just cannot get stops.

Defensive Nightmares Ruin Multiple Games

Last season, the Bengals ranked 7th in points allowed per game, averaging 25.5 points per game, and 8th in yards allowed per game with an average of 343.3. On the other hand, they ranked 26th in total sacks.

Taking a look at their 2024 season, Burrow and the offense were consistently putting up plenty of points, but the defense was unable to hold its own. They gave up too many big plays and were unsuccessful in closing out tight games, leading to multiple losses that could have otherwise been wins.

Nobody is asking the Bengals to have an elite defense like what we see in Philadelphia. Even if they can manage to put together performances in the middle of the pack, the team knows it can count on Burrow to get the job done.

Here's 2:22 of Tanner McKee absolutely cooking the Bengals' starting defense.

20/25
253 total yards
3 total TDs
135.3 passer rating pic.twitter.com/ggj4WoJxBu
— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeeg_) August 8, 2025

Lack of Protection from O-line

Another important issue at hand has been the O-line problems. The former LSU quarterback has been one of the most sacked players in the league since his debut. Last season, once again, he faced plenty of pressure, in particular from the interior.

The O-line play was so bad that he ended up taking 48 sacks despite having top-quality receivers to throw to. His 48 sacks placed him tied at the number 4 spot in 2024, and his 278 yards lost after sack put him at the number 6th spot.

In fact, Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis posted on his X account a quite disturbing reality wherein the Bengals’ O-line pass block win rate over the past few years have ranked at number 30 in 2021 and 2022, number 27 in 2023, and number 32 in 2024. A clear sign pointing to the struggle and frustration of Joe Burrow.

Trey Hendrickson Contract Issues

Finally, we reach the main talking point of this offseason for the AFC North-based team. Superstar defender Trey Hendrickson is understandably looking for a new deal, one that puts him near the top of the pile along with the Myles Garretts, T.J. Watts, and the Maxx Crosbys of the league.

Hendrickson has produced 17.5 sacks each in both of his previous two seasons and was the sack leader in 2024. He is the defensive stalwart of the team, and without him, this defense would have been an even bigger joke.

There’s only one problem. The Bengals are not ready to agree to his terms, even though the start of the new season is less than a month away. Hendrickson has threatened not to play this year should his deal not get extended. Just imagine what that would do to this Bengals’ D.

.@AdamSchefter gives the latest on Trey Hendrickson's contract news

"[Trey Hendrickson is] frustrated because the team has not only not returned his phone calls since the draft … but [the Bengals] obviously had comments to make at the owners meetings." 😮 pic.twitter.com/TpUIdgmLTR
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 13, 2025

And before we conclude this topic, it is also interesting to note that Burrow has also done his part when it comes to financial flexibility. He wanted to retain Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins at any cost, and he wants his star defender playing on the team, so he even agreed to restructure his own contract.

The Bengals have put Burrow in an extremely tough spot. There is absolutely no doubt that his prime is being wasted by Cincinnati. If he were on another team, things could have been so different for the 28-year-old. Heck, he might have even won a Super Bowl by now!

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Burrow

NFL

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!