Bengals edge rusher Boye Mafe proving to be difference-maker on revamped defense

• Boye Mafe has taken little time to star in Cincinnati: After a career-best Week 7 outing, Mafe is the NFL's fourth-highest-graded edge defender.

• Lifting a defense that desperately needed upgrades: With Mafe, Dexter Lawrence and others, the Bengals have risen to 11th in EPA per play.

• Excellence in all areas: Mafe places in the top 10 at his position in both PFF pass-rush and run-defense grades, finishing with high marks in all but two games to start his Bengals career.

At halftime in M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, the Ravens were in firm control of a pivotal AFC North clash with the Bengals with a 13-0 advantage. Baltimore had not only kept Cincinnati off the board, but also controlled the clock with extended drives.

It would have been easy for any team to simply roll over and accept defeat facing such a substantial halftime deficit on the road — especially one that’s failed to reach the playoffs for three straight seasons. However, the Bengals did the exact opposite, ripping off 35 straight points while pitching a second-half shutout to throttle the Ravens 35-13.

Attention in Cincinnati naturally gravitates toward Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and the Bengals’ high-flying offense, which certainly catalyzed the second-half surge. However, a major impetus in the team’s 4-2 record — and Week 7 victory — is the play of edge defender Boye Mafe.

Mafe starred against the Ravens, producing an initial 90.2 overall PFF grade — a mark that would set a new career high. His impact was most felt as a pass-rusher, generating five pressures and two sacks on a gaudy 23.1% pass-rush win rate over 27 pass-rushing snaps.

The manner in which those pressures arrived was also significant. Three of them came on third downs, helping enable the Bengals to get off the field and curtail a Ravens possession. Likewise, three were in the second half alone, with Mafe anchoring a stingy 30 minutes for Al Golden’s defense. On top of that, Mafe was able to win from both sides of the line of scrimmage, adding unpredictability and versatility to his pass-rushing repertoire with a bevy of moves.

Mafe’s career-best outing in Week 7 punctuates what’s been a revelatory season for the first-year Bengals. Through seven weeks, Mafe has produced an 88.9 overall PFF grade, the fourth-highest among edge rushers to play 200 or more snaps this season. That includes a top-10 ranking in both pass-rushing (84.1) and run defense (74.2), with Mafe one of three such edge defenders to place as highly in both categories.

Uncovering more layers of Mafe’s splendid start reveals a player that’s been remarkably consistent as well. He’s notched a 76.0-plus overall PFF grade in four of six contests this season, plus generated four or more pressures in five of those matchups as well. In a league where elite pass-rushers are consistently schemed against by opposing offensive coordinators — whether via chip help or very quick passes — it’s awfully difficult to be that impactful that often with hardly any no-shows.

When the Bengals added Mafe on a three-year, $60 million contract this offseason, he helped usher in a new defensive era for Cincinnati. Next to fellow additions Dexter Lawrence, Bryan Cook, Jonathan Allen and Cashius Howell, the team’s front office poured in considerable free-agent and draft resources into one of the league’s worst units in 2025. A heightened sense of urgency was palpable, especially with Burrow turning 30 in December and head coach Zac Taylor’s status unknown beyond 2026.

The early results have been largely promising. So far, the Bengals sit 11^th in defensive EPA per play and seventh in scoring drive rate given up. The team’s overhauled defensive line has been a foundation, ranking eighth in overall PFF grade while helping foster an above-average 37.5% pressure rate and the third-best rushing EPA per play against.

Throughout his four-year career with the Seahawks, Mafe had settled into a strong rotational role along a very deep defensive line group, showing flashes but never developing into a household name. However, the Bengals bestowed such a lofty cost into him because they desperately needed an alpha pass-rusher. After all, only two Bengals produced even 40 pressures throughout all of 2025 — and Mafe already has 30 not even halfway through this season.

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Sunday’s matchup with the Ravens was, in many ways, a full-circle moment for Cincinnati brass. On the other side of the line of scrimmage loomed longtime Bengal great Trey Hendrickson, the author of four Pro Bowl campaigns and five straight years with an 86.5-plus PFF pass-rush grade. Despite multiple overtures (many of which turned contentious), Bengals were never able to secure a long-term contract extension with Hendrickson — ultimately letting him walk east across divisional lines to mark a bitter divorce.

With Hendrickson now donning purple, the overarching question looming over the Bengals’ 2026 season was whether the team could sufficiently replace his All-Pro production. Nearly utilizing Mafe’s performance alone in Week 7, the franchise offered a resounding yes.

Offering top dollar to any free agent, let alone one who hadn’t blossomed into a bonafide star, carries tremendous risk. But in Cincinnati’s case, it seems that its investment in Mafe is wildly prudent — and one of the better free-agent additions by any organization this offseason.

While the Bengals’ defense has tightened screws in 2026, more work is needed to reach another level, specifically preventing fewer explosive gains and limiting work on late downs. However, players like Mafe help substantially raise the floor of what Taylor’s team can accomplish in 2026 and beyond. If Cincinnati’s defense receives this level of play from Mafe and others over the rest of the year, a return to the postseason feels like just the start of the Bengals’ winter plans.