Cincinnati Bengals had everyone fooled. They're not serious AFC contenders | Opinion
The Cincinnati Bengals had everyone believing in them.
Things were on the right track after two consecutive wins, they said. The Bengals just needed to go beat the reeling Cleveland Browns and they’d be talked about in the same conversation with AFC elites Buffalo and Kansas City.
It turned out to be a façade made of wet toilet paper. The Bengals aren’t serious contenders. Not right now, anyway. Maybe not the rest of the season.
Contenders win on Monday Night Football against an embattled opponent on a four-game losing skid.
Contenders don’t get absolutely destroyed by a division rival, let alone one that came in with two wins that started Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.
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The Bengals’ 32-13 loss is hard for their loyal fans to stomach. The Bengals looked like the Bengals of old on Halloween night. They couldn’t run, pass or catch the ball. How do they trust the Bengals now?
Bengals remain winless in AFC North
Cincinnati (4-4) is winless in the AFC North as the calendar flips to November. It’s not early anymore. The Bengals have run out of mulligans, with the toughest part of the schedule yet to come. The injuries are mounting, but that’s hardly an excuse for Monday’s performance. The Browns, who hadn’t won a game in 5½ weeks, also had a bunch of players out with injuries.
All the momentum is gone after the Bengals defeated New Orleans and Atlanta. But let’s face it, the Saints and Falcons stink. The offensive problems that appeared to be fixed, yeah, not so much.
Joe Burrow reverted to average Joe. The offensive line was back to swinging gates wide open for defensive players to tee off on Burrow. Joe Mixon still can’t run the ball. The Bengals were back to starting sluggish. They had zero points and 100 yards in the first half. They finished with five sacks allowed and 36 yards rushing.
The Bengals added to the list of problems. Their all-world kicker suddenly can’t put the ball through the uprights. Evan McPherson missed a field goal and a point-after attempt. The defense gave up its first second-half touchdown of the season. It gave up three, in fact. The Bengals gave up a season-high 32 points and 440 yards.
Zac Taylor remains confident
“We weren’t at our best today in any phase,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “I’m confident it’s not who we are, that we can make the corrections and flush this one away quickly.”
Maybe up-and-down is who the Bengals are. They’ve given no reason to believe they’re better than a .500 team. And the injury situation compounds their issues.
There’s been so much talk about how the Bengals were fortunate to stay healthy during the Super Bowl run last season. They didn’t lose any key players for long stretches. But they’re without wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and defensive tackle D.J. Reader. Cornerbacks Eli Apple and Chidobe Awuzie are hurt, the latter going down with a knee injury during the first half against the Browns.
Contenders find ways to adjust and win. If the Bengals are going to make another deep playoff run — or make the postseason at all — Burrow must step up. He has to find a way without his friend and favorite target, Chase, who could be out for a month or longer with a hip injury.
It’s hard to criticize Burrow, who’s been the key to turning around the franchise. But he’s now 0-4 against the Browns, who’ve won eight of their last nine games against Cincinnati. The Bengals lost their NFL-record 13th consecutive road prime-time game. Most of those losses occurred before Burrow was drafted. But it’s another thing contending teams do: They go on the road and win in prime time.
The Bengals could’ve effectively buried the Browns’ season and made the AFC North a two-horse race between Cincinnati and Baltimore. Instead, Cleveland has renewed hope. The Browns (3-5) are trying to bide their time until suspended quarterback Deshaun Watson makes his scheduled season debut in early December. Watson is expected to be the Browns’ starter when they play Cincinnati on Dec. 11.
That’s five games away. Time is ticking on the Bengals to get rolling.