CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals held their first practice of training camp on Wednesday, and in what might go down as the biggest shocker of the NFL preseason, the defense outplayed the offense.
And yes, you read that right: A Bengals defense that was historically bad last season managed to slow down Joe Burrow, who was historically good. After practice, the Bengals star quarterback was clearly frustrated with his play. He gave a one-word answer when asked how things went.
“Poorly.”
Although Burrow wasn’t happy with the offense, he was impressed with the way the defense played.
“I thought they were really sharp today,” Burrow said. “I thought their energy was great. I thought the defensive backs were playing really well, playing their leverages, sticky in coverage. They won the day.”
The impressive part is that the defense managed to win the day despite the fact that the unit’s best player, Trey Hendrickson, wasn’t on the field and won’t be on the field for the foreseeable future due to a contract holdout. Simply put: No one on the defense seemed to be distracted by the absence of Hendrickson or first-round rookie holdout Shemar Stewart.
If there was one play that summed up the day, it came toward the end of practice when new Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden had his safety (Geno Stone) blitz Burrow.
Nothing sends a message quite like calling a safety blitz on the first day of training camp.
If Burrow struggles against the Bengals defense during training camp, he only has himself to blame. As it turns out, the Bengals offensive star actually spent some time with the defense this offseason in an effort to help the unit improve, and at least for the first practice, the experiment was a success.
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For the first time in his six NFL seasons, Burrow sat down and watched film with JUST the defense, and according to Golden, the session was a total success.
“One of the best days of our offseason is when Joe came in and spent three or four hours with us, and just sat there and watched tape and looked at things,” Golden said. “That’s what’s going to make us better.”
The reason the meeting came together is because Bengals head coach Zac Taylor thought it might make sense to have his star quarterback do it this offseason.
“I’ve had those conversations with Joe over the years, just always wanted to see what he sees, who are corners that give you problems because of technique, things like that,” Taylor said before practice Wednesday. “As I’ve gone through it with Joe, [I’ve thought] it’d be great for the defense to hear this as well. Let’s not just keep this secret to us sitting here in my office. I think that was really, really valuable for him to be in there with that staff, just share what he sees pre-snap, what gives him issues.”
Burrow went in, watched film with the defense and then shared his knowledge, and if the first practice of training camp was any indication, he might be TOO GOOD of a teacher.
“It was a cut up of maybe 50 to 70 [plays], but I was just talking through what I was seeing, who I’m looking at, who I’m keying [on] in certain coverages, certain teams, who’s giving it away,” Burrow said. “All that good stuff.”
Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt said the session with Burrow was incredibly helpful, especially for a young defense that’s trying to take a big step forward following a disappointing 2024 season.
“It was very valuable,” Taylor-Britt said of his time with Burrow after Wednesday’s practice. “You want to see what your QB sees. Try to pick his brain. … If I stop my feet here, what’s he looking at now?”
Burrow shared his secrets with the defense, and after one day of training camp, the defense already seems to be better for it.
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After a historically bad year in 2025, Taylor is clearly doing everything in his power to make the defense better. That started back in January with the hiring of Golden, who’s took over for the fired Lou Anarumo.
Golden, who served as the defensive coordinator last season for a Notre Dame team that made it to the College Football National Championship game, is bringing a new energy.
“He’s got such great perspective because of all the different roles he has,” Taylor said of Golden this week. “He also does a great job of streamlining his communication with me, because he’s been a head coach. He’s does a great job so far.”
Golden was a college head coach at both Temple (2006-10) and Miami (2011-15), but he also has plenty of NFL experience. This is actually Golden’s second stint with the Bengals — he was the team’s linebackers coach in 2020 and 2021 — and during his first stint with the team, Cincinnati made it to the Super Bowl.
The Bengals are definitely a Super Bowl contender this year, and if they see just a small improvement from their defense compared to last season, getting back to the big game would become a realistic possibility.
No one is is worried about the offense in Cincinnati, so one bad practice isn’t anything to worry about. All eyes are on the defense, and if the rejuvenated unit is able to turn things around in 2025, the Bengals could be one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL.
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Author: John Breech
July 23, 2025 | 4:46 pm
