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Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton didn’t sugarcoat the way his team’s defense has played amid a 1-4 start to the season.
“I know we’ve been playing like s— for real, honestly,” Hilton said, per ESPN’s Ben Baby. “And we know we have to turn around for us to have a chance to make this run, but that’s the thing about this game. You all have another opportunity to go out there and prove yourself.”
According to Baby, the Bengals held a players-only defensive meeting for the first time since last season and Hilton spoke to the group for about five to 10 minutes.
The Bengals’ defense has been one of the worst in the league so far this year, ranking 31st in defensive success rate, 30th in points allowed per drive and 31st in third-down defense, according to Baby.
In their last two losses to the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens, they’ve given up 38 and 41 points, respectively.
The struggles haven’t carried over to the offense, which has the sixth-most passing yards and fourth-most points per game after five games. Hilton knows he and the defense are the main reason for the rough start to the year.
“We have to hold up our end of the bargain,” Hilton said. “[Our] offense is rolling, but we have to do our part. A play here, a play there. Our record be 4-1, but we’re 1-4 and we got to climb out [of] this hole.”
After this week’s players-only meeting, the defense has a chance to prove it’s ready to step up and start giving the Bengals’ offense some relief. A matchup with the New York Giants on Sunday is a good opportunity to start turning things around as the Giants have a below-average offense so far this season.
If Cincinnati’s defense doesn’t improve, it could mean another year absent from the postseason for the Bengals.
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