CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard turned, looked and dropped to his knees.
Earlier in Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, Hubbard celebrated a safety when he tackled running back Derrick Henry in the end zone. But in the fourth quarter, he was rendered helpless as quarterback Lamar Jackson pulled off the improbable.
After fumbling the snap, Jackson scrambled backwards, stiff-armed Hubbard's tackle attempt and flung a pass across his body and toward the end zone. It traveled 31 yards through the air, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and found tight end Isaiah Likely for the touchdown. That started a string of 13 unanswered points in a 41-38 overtime win.
On that play, victory was just outside Cincinnati's grasp. And that has been a common theme throughout this season.
Following the game, quarterback Joe Burrow said he knows exactly why the team that started the year with championship aspirations is 1-4. And while he idn't explicitly call out the defense, and neither did anyone else, it wasn't needed. Cincinnati knows that a unit that was overhauled in the offseason hasn't put it all together.
"Nobody has to tell us," Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill said on Monday. "We already know."
Cincinnati is 30th in points allowed per drive, according to ESPN Research, and next-to-last in defensive success rate. It is allowing 29 points per game, better only than the Carolina Panthers (33 ppg).
One of the biggest issues is the inability to stop drives. In the last three games, opponents are converting 83.3% of their third downs, which is also the same rate teams are converting red-zone scoring chances into touchdowns.
Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo referenced the lack of third-down stops that played a role in Cincinnati's loss to the Ravens. In the defensive meeting on Monday morning, Anarumo pointed to five of Baltimore's 10 third-down conversions where Cincinnati should have gotten off the field.
In one particular instance, back-up slot cornerback Jalen Davis, who was playing after injuries to Mike Hilton and Dax Hill, didn't get to Jackson in time despite being a free blitzer, which gave the two-time MVP winner enough time to throw a 12-yard completion on third-and-10.
Anarumo said that wasn't on Davis, who was elevated from the practice squad, but it also touched on another issue that has plagued the defense.
Cincinnati hasn't pressured opposing quarterbacks enough. Anarumo said the team charted 41 blitzes on Baltimore's 77 offensive plays. ESPN Research showed the official blitz rate was a touch lower at 38.3%, the 11th-highest during Anarumo's tenure.
And one of the issues against Baltimore was that the team struggled to gets its pass rush and pass coverage in sync.
"Obviously, the numbers were really good for him," Anarumo said of Jackson, who finished with 348 passing yards and four touchdowns. "But we've got to do better there in those rush-and-coverages marrying up."
But it's not as simple as that. The loss to Baltimore also underscored how the offseason additions to improve the defense haven't panned out.
Second-year safety Jordan Battle rotated in with veteran Vonn Bell as Cincinnati tried to find a working combination. Bell was brought in this offseason to fix a defense that yielded big plays in 2023 as a result of poor communication.
Hill, who moved from free safety to cornerback this season, was viewed as the team's best player at that position before he suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury against Baltimore. Cam Taylor-Britt, who had Pro Bowl aspirations at the beginning of the year, has struggled.
And defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, who was brought in to give the Bengals a better interior pass rush, has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury. But coach Zac Taylor wasn't in the mood for citing injuries as an excuse for defensive performance.
"To make an excuse for that's why we given up some things we've given up, I'm not going to do that," Taylor said on Monday.
Anarumo wasn't either. This week's game against the New York Giants (8:20 p.m., ETC, NBC) will serve as a homecoming for the Staten Island, New York, native, who is expected to have over 100 friends and family in attendance. The thought of Anarumo's unit having a bounce-back game in that environment can seem heartwarming.
But the fuzzy feeling Cincinnati wants can only be produced by improved play and winning.
"I don't care if it was on the moon this weekend," Anarumo said. "I want to make sure we do what we're supposed to do. Just settle down, have a good game. Just win the game."