The Cincinnati Bengals are off to a great start against the Houston Texans in their Week 2 matchup, as they won 20-6. At the same time, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the Bengals picked up plenty of penalties in the fourth quarter. As that unfolded, wide receiver Tee Higgins’ mom, Camillia Stewart, took to social media and ranted about the penalties.
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“We got a thousand damn penalties wtf,” Stewart wrote on X.
Stewart’s comments carry significant weight, considering the Bengals were penalized 5 times during the first 20 minutes of the matchup as the refs flagged Cincy 12 times for a loss of 78 yards. The Texans, on the other hand, have been penalized nine times for 83 yards.
The game log shows several penalties that had a much bigger practical impact than their raw yardage suggests. For instance, with 7:21 remaining in the first quarter, Chase Brown broke a run for 26 yards, taking the ball from the Bengals’ 45-yard line to the Houston 19. However, offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild was flagged for offensive holding.
The penalty was 10 yards, and the play was ruled no play, meaning the Bengals lost the entire 26-yard gain. Instead of setting up at Houston’s 19-yard line, the Bengals were backed up to their own 45 and ultimately punted after the drive stalled.
Subsequently, at 5:04 of the first quarter, guard Dalton Risner was called for a false start. It was a five-yard penalty, and the play was blown dead. This came during the drive that eventually ended in a punt.
But penalties didn’t stop there. In the second quarter, Orlando Brown Jr. was flagged for a false start. At the same time, at 11:56, Ted Karras was also called for a false start. Both were five-yard penalties, and both resulted in no play. In short, while it’s true that the Bengals maintained a lead over the Texans for most of the matchup, the penalties have been a major issue for the team.
For broader context, the Bengals ranked in the mid-tier in penalties during the 2025 season. The team was penalized 88 times in over 17 games. That worked out to 5.18 accepted penalties and 37.2 penalty yards per game.
They were flagged 21 times for false starts, followed by 18 offensive holding penalties, six defensive pass interference calls, five roughing-the-passer penalties, three illegal contact penalties, and two illegal use of hands penalties, along with others. And now, they have had a rough start to the 2026 season, committing 11 penalties against the Texans.