I don’t think I’ve been this depressed after a Bengals game than tonight. I literally don’t feel like doing anything; that’s how much my pride of being a Bengals fan is hurt. I also literally wondered after the game how I am still a Bengals fan? Why do I keep putting myself through so much heartbreak when there’s so many other great NFL teams I could be a fan of? I, and all the other loyal Bengals fans in Cincinnati, put so much energy into being a Bengals fan and going to all the home games, and we don’t deserve all the heartbreak we’ve been through.
Today’s loss to the Browns is definitely the lowest of lows in what was once a very promising season. Of all the things I thought could go wrong this season, I certainly did not expect that we would see the Bengals get embarrassed at home by their in-state rivals. Here’s the deal, though: I saw this coming.
Let’s go back to the final minute of the game at home against the Steelers because now I am convinced that this season took a turn for the worst right there and then. Up one point and less than a minute away from winning that game and the Steelers facing a 3rd-and-10 in their own territory; I felt like the Bengals were in a really good position to actually win. The next three plays, though: a holding by Dre Kirkpatrick on an incomplete pass, a 23-yard completion to JuJu Smith-Schuster and then the knockout punch that was Antonio Brown’s 31-yard game-winning touchdown. Looking back on it tonight, in the blink of an eye the Bengals misery against the Steelers continued and the season took a turn towards a reality we all know as Bengals fans: this team simply isn’t all that good and are far from being considered elite.
Since that game against the Steelers, there’s been a blowout loss on prime time at the Chiefs, an embarrassing blowout loss at home against the Saints, a disappointing loss at the Ravens and an I don’t even know what-you-call today’s loss at home against the Browns. 4-1 and alone in first place after the win against Miami to 5-6 and most likely not going to the playoffs; that’s the drastically negative change that has occurred in less than two months. The unraveling culminated today against the Browns and, like I said, I saw it coming.
If you’ve read my previous blog posts, I was trying to stay positive with this Bengals team. The very first post on my blog was after a great win at Atlanta, a time when I though there was unlimited potential for this team. But after today’s loss, I’m realizing the sad realities of this team. Teams like the Patriots, Steelers and others would have found a way, without their No. 1 weapon on offense, to win at least two of their three games without him. Without A.J. Green, the Bengals went 0-3 with two, to say the least, embarrassing losses at home.
I will say this, though. Today’s loss against the Browns came against a Browns team that is significantly better than in years past. Baker Mayfield is going to buck the trend of the Browns not being able to sustain a quarterback for longer than the 39-day adventure that is my favorite television show, Survivor, and Mayfield may have already bucked the trend. Watching him and the Browns offense today was so much different than watching Cleveland’s offenses in the past. The Browns clearly are evolving their offense to compete with the elite offenses in the NFL. There were so many times today where they went with an empty backfield formation, plays Mayfield ran constantly at Oklahoma in the air-raid offense of the Big 12. We also need to get used to the fact that any future game against the Browns is now no longer a gimme. The question is will the Bengals play with a sense of urgency in those games?
As bad as today’s loss might have been, the Bengals actually did fight until the end. Think about this: down 35-7 with your starting quarterback out. Not a good situation, right? But Jeff Driskell actually brought the Bengals back into the game and the defense tightened up a little bit in the second half. I didn’t see a whole lot of fans leave when it was 35-7 in the third quarter. Those could have been Browns fans who were still there, of course, but I felt like the fans were into the game as the Bengals started to come back.
There’s only so much this offense can do without Green. I have come to realize that. The offense did compete, though, throughout the entire game. It didn’t completely succumb to the big deficit. It was the 13 penalties that may have cost them chances to cash drives into points. And if Green does come back against Denver next week, which is a big game, then maybe this offense can be just a little bit better as the Bengals try to keep slim playoff hopes alive.
I’ve also been feeling this recently: think about how the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl last year. Year two under head coach Doug Pederson and quarterback Carson Wentz after squandering a 3-0 start to finish 7-9 the year before. I say this because before last year the Eagles, like the Bengals, had never won a Super Bowl. While they actually got a new head coach in hitting the reset button, they still had contending teams before 2017. That’s just like the Bengals case where they kid of hit the reset button after a down year in 2017, have had contending teams throughout their history and started 4-1 this year but may not finish with a great record due to a slew of injuries. But next year could be the year, especially with key players back, that this team accomplishes something really special.
The Bengals may not go to the playoffs this year, mainly due to the piling up of injuries. I think that fans will be frustrated with a season that doesn’t result in a playoff appearance because this team hasn’t won a playoff game since Jan. 6, 1991 and because Marvin Lewis has an 0-7 playoff record here in Cincinnati. Our situation could be worse, though. Think about the Bills. They didn’t even make the playoffs for 17 years and their fans are some of the most loyal in the country. So can’t we all enjoy having an NFL team to root for every Sunday, regardless of how well they do?
The frustration among fans could be preventing them from enjoying the season with the team. Don’t worry about this team making the playoffs or whether or not they will win a playoff game. That will take care of itself.
Next week at home against Denver: show up, be loud and cheer this team to victory.
Let me be Frank and Cut to the Chase 