Bengals could've saved their defense far sooner with painfully simple move

Cincinnati Bengals v Baltimore Ravens | Patrick Smith/GettyImagesThe Cincinnati Bengals made life rather miserable for Quinn Ewers in his first NFL start as they coasted to a 45-21 Week 16 win over the Miami Dolphins. Not a bad little boost of positivity in the midst of a 5-10 season, especially for the Bengals' oft-gashed defense.

Had Cincinnati made a couple easy personnel tweaks earlier in the year, though, it's possible the defense wouldn't have looked nearly as bad. What looked like a shaky secondary on paper entering Week 1 is now the most obvious strength on that side of the ball.

That's equal parts optimism-inspiring for 2026 and frustrating as heck that the lighbulb didn't turn on…