CINCINNATI -- One play encapsulated why the Cincinnati Bengals were once one of the best teams in the NFL.
In the AFC championship during the 2021 playoffs, safety Jessie Bates III deflected a deep ball intended for Kansas City Chiefs star wide receiver Tyreek Hill. The ball ricocheted into the arms of safety Vonn Bell, who secured the interception that set up the eventual game-winning field goal that sent Cincinnati to its first Super Bowl in 33 years.
Three years later, to say things are vastly different is an understatement.
Cincinnati let Bates leave in free agency, where he developed into a Pro Bowler with the Atlanta Falcons. Bell also left for a season, was cut by the Carolina Panthers and re-signed with the Bengals for this season.
Through eight games this season, the Bengals defense is struggling for answers. The latest setback came in Sunday's 37-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Coach Zac Taylor said given the team's 3-5 record, the Bengals must "get more out of everybody on our team, coaches and players."
But in assessing where things went wrong from that historic 2021 season to the present-day Bengals, three main factors are why the Bengals have struggled for form this season.
A decline in safety play
The conversation around the defense must start with Bates. A second-round pick out of Wake Forest in 2018, Bates emerged as one of the league's top safeties during his five seasons with the Bengals. But after Cincinnati opted not to sign him, he signed a four-year deal worth $64 million with the Atlanta Falcons in 2023. With his new club, he reached the Pro Bowl and is playing at an All-Pro caliber this season.
While that was a price the Bengals believed was too steep for a safety, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said Bates' versatility in defending players from receivers to tight ends, and his innate talent in tracking the ball, were two of the things that made him great.
"We don't have him anymore, so I don't want to lament on that," Anarumo said Monday. "He's doing some of the same things for them. We've just got to do better with our guys that we have."
Cincinnati's sixth-year coordinator has tried to alter the amount of space the safeties have to cover in order for them to have a similar impact in the scheme. But so far, the replacements haven't panned out.
Dax Hill, the first-round pick in 2022 who was projected as a replacement safety, was moved to outside cornerback. Nick Scott was a free agent who only lasted one season before he was cut. And Geno Stone, this year's addition, has not had the same production as Bates did in Anarumo's defense.
Minimal youth impact
When the Bengals signed quarterback Joe Burrow to a $275 million extension, which set the record for highest annual average salary in NFL history, it meant spending on other parts of the roster were going to be limited. Factor in an extension for wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, which could be the richest ever for a non-quarterback, and it leaves less money to spend on defense.
To offset that financial cost, Cincinnati spent premium picks on defenders in recent drafts. Defensive end Myles Murphy was taken in the first round in 2023, one year after the Bengals took Hill. Cincinnati also used three straight second-round picks on defenders -- cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (2022), cornerback DJ Turner II (2023) and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. (2024).
Turner was bumped out of the starting rotation in place of Hill, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury on Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens. Jenkins is one of 11 defensive linemen the Bengals have drafted since 2020. Of the six who are still with the team, including three rookies, none played more than 60% of the defensive snaps in Sunday's loss to the Eagles.
"We just have to stay on top of it and keep working when we got good young guys that are working really hard," Anarumo said. "All the young guys are. Just waiting to find the results on a consistent basis. We are just too much up and down right now."
Inability to get stops
In terms of what is happening on the field, this is the biggest reason why Cincinnati has struggled. Throughout Anarumo's tenure, the defense has taken pride in not allowing teams to score touchdowns despite gaining yards. That has changed this season. Prior to Monday night, the Bengals ranked 27th in the league in red zone efficiency and 29th in goal-to-go efficiency, according to ESPN Research.
Anarumo said on Monday that despite spending extra time at practice on red zone defense, the success from previous seasons, such as during the team's playoff runs in 2021 and 2022, have not materialized this year.
"We just got to focus in more on what we're doing, how we're doing it, and maybe clean it up a little bit more for the guys so it's a little bit easier," Anarumo said.
If the Bengals are going to reverse the trends that are causing major issues for the defense, coaches and players know they must get stops and get off the field. Cincinnati is 27th in third-down defense and has allowed the second-most goal-to-go drives in the league.
It's one of the myriad factors ailing a team that had championship aspirations at the start of the season.
"Every part of this team has a responsibility," Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said after Sunday's loss. "Guys have to go out there and do their jobs, and we haven't found a way to have a complete game offensively, defensively, special teams. And here we are in a 3-5 hole."