Bengals starter offers glimmer of hope for how the defense can finally get up to speed

While the Cincinnati Bengals' offense is pulling their weight, the other side of the ball is scrambling for answers .

Defensively, Cincinnati is one of the worst teams in the league. It's the main reason why the entire team is stuck with a 1-4 record at the moment. Pick a stat and you'll find them much closer to 32nd than 1st in NFL-wide rankings.

It's been so bad that the injury excuse doesn't feel worthy to be brought up, unless you're linebacker Germaine Pratt.

Bengals' defense may finally be healthy this week

Wednesday's practice in Cincinnati saw the return of both defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and Mike Hilton. Hilton confirmed to reporters after practice that he will be playing Sunday night against the New York Giants and if all goes well, Rankins will be joining him.

Both players returning would give the Bengals the healthiest version of their defense this year, sans Dax Hill and his recently torn ACL .

Pratt told Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson that being healthy is the missing piece for the entire unit.

"When we finally get healthy, that's going to mean something," Pratt said. "Some of these guys haven't even played together yet. How much have (B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins) played together?"

He knows the answer. Hill and Rankins each suffered hamstring injuries during Week 2's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. That only compounded with the depth issues that already existed. Kris Jenkins Jr. missed the first two games, McKinnley Jackson and Myles Murphy missed the first four games, and Lawrence Guy Sr. was signed off the street leading up to Week 3.

The unit right in front of Pratt has been anything stable, but stabilization may've finally arrived.

"It's like the offensive line, Pratt said. "It's tough when you've got to plug and play. We're getting better as we get healthier."

For everyone's sake, Pratt needs to be right about his teammates. There's only so many more weeks of ineptitude that this defense can excuse away, healthy or not.

Related: Former Bengals player tells revealing story of past upset win over Giants involving A.J. Green