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The only way for the Cincinnati Bengals defense to go – presumably – is up.
The Bengals finished 31st in total defense last year with 380.9 yards allowed per game, and they ranked 30th in points allowed (28.9).
How much better will they be in 2026?
What would it take to make franchise history for the biggest leap in each category?
Let’s start with yards allowed. The biggest jump in Bengals history came nearly half a century ago. The 1979 team ranked 28th of 28 teams that year with 369.4 yards allowed per game.
Team founder and owner Paul Brown fired head coach Homer Rice after the 4-12 season and hired Forrest Gregg, who tapped Hank Bullough as his defensive coordinator. And the 1980 Bengals cracked the top 10, finishing ninth (300.3 ypg).
That leap of 19 spots was nearly duplicated a couple of seasons later with Gregg and Bullough still at the helm.
During the strike-shortened 1982 season, as the Bengals came off their first Super Bowl appearance, the defense ranked 18th (321.4).
The following year, Cincinnati led the NFL in total defense by allowing 270.4 yards per game, which was nearly 23 yards better than runner-up New Orleans (293.2), for a leap of 17 spots.
Only three Bengals teams gave up fewer yards per game in a season – 1972 (253.7), 1976 (262.1) and 1973 (264.6).
The third-best rise came in the Paul Brown/Paycor era when the 2007 team finished 27th (348.8) and the 2008 squad ranked 12th (325.5). Marvin Lewis was the head coach for both of those seasons, but Mike Zimmer took over as defensive coordinator in 2008, coinciding with the steep climb.
The largest leap in NFL history belongs to the 2002 Panthers. After ranking 31st in 2001 (371.4), Carolina finished second the following year (290.4).
Three teams have made leaps of 28 spots – the 2011 Texans (30th to second); the 2013 Saints (32nd to fourth) and the 2022 Jets (from 32nd to fourth).
When it comes to points allowed, the largest leap was 15 spots.
The 2010 team finished 24th (24.7 ppg), while the 2011 Bengals ranked ninth (20.2).
The second biggest climb occurred during the 1979-80 improvement under Gregg and Bullough. The 1979 team ranked 28th (26.3), while the 1980 team finished 14th (19.5).
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