Cincinnati Reds or Cincinnati Bengals: Who wins a championship first?

Reds pitching vs. Bengals defense

Again, there’s no exact science to this. However, if the idea of pitching is to keep the other team from scoring runs, and the premise behind defense is to keep the other team from scoring touchdowns, it stands to reason that we can somewhat compare pitching in baseball to defense in football, right? I know, it doesn’t really compare, but let’s do it anyway.

The Reds pitching staff was one of the best in the league last year. As a team, Cincinnati finished eighth among all major league squads in terms of team ERA. With an ERA of 4.12, the Reds starters finished ninth in all of Major League Baseball and fifth in the NL. The bullpen’s ERA ranked 13th among all 30 teams and seventh in the National League.

Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo both made the All-Star team, and Anthony DeSclafani finished among the Top 20 in the league in ERA and strikeouts. That said, Reds reliever Raisel Iglesias struggled last season, losing a career-high 12 games, and putting into question his status as the closer for next year’s team.

The Bengals defense was not very good. Cincinnati ranked 28th in yards allowed. However, the pass defense ranked 21st in yards per game. Unfortunately, the pass rush was virtually nonexistent. With just 31 sacks, the Bengals ranked 27th in sacks and the team had just 11 interceptions. Geno Atkins was the lone Pro Bowl selection for the Bengals, racking up just 4.5 sacks in 2019.

Carlos Dunlap was his usual, consistent self, putting up 9 sacks to lead the Bengals. He also forced two fumbles, but for the first time since 2012, Dunlap did not play in all 16 games. The Bengals defense had their moments, but overall were not good in 2019. The Reds pitching staff, on the other hand, was the strength of the team in 2019, and looks to be the strength going forward.

Advantage: Reds