Sunday Was A Jeckyll And Hyde Day For Cincinnati
The Enquirer
The Bengals made it interesting in the fourth quarter, but they ultimately failed to come out of Sunday’s game with a win. The Texans took home a 30-27 victory and have now taken over the 7th seed from the Bengals in the AFC playoff picture. The Bengals, meanwhile, have dropped to the 8th seed in the AFC and are now out (but not far out) of the playoff picture.
Here are our top takeaways from yesterday’s loss.
The Bengals’ good moments were truly great…
Even with the tough loss, there were still a handful of plays that kept Cincinnati in the game. In the fourth quarter, when Cincinnati needed to rally, CJ Stroud threw an interception to Cam Taylor-Britt, who took it 30 yards to the Houston 4-yard line. The Bengals then quickly scored to put themselves right back into the game. After a Texans’ three-and-out, Joe Burrow connected with Tyler Boyd on a 64-yard completion that took the Bengals deep into Texans territory once again.
Not to mention, Burrow threw two touchdowns in the game, both of which were absolute dimes. One was to Trenton Irwin…
No Higgins? No problem.
Trenton Irwin!
pic.twitter.com/cuErjTlGQv— Walter 👋🤖 (@WalterPicksApp) November 12, 2023
And the other was to Ja’Marr Chase.
JA’MARR CHASE IS ALWAYS OPEN 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Ni7USezZZC
— PFF (@PFF) November 12, 2023
The loss proved to be really tough, however, there were moments in the game where the Bengals looked like the elite team we’ve all known over the past few seasons. Unfortunately…
…their bad moments were their undoing.
The Bengals put on a Jekyll and Hyde performance on Sunday. Half the time, they looked like an elite team that could very much win a Lombardi sooner rather than later. Other moments, they struggled to move the ball down the field, couldn’t prevent pressure on Joe Burrow, and, worst of all, they couldn’t avoid costly mistakes.
Most of those costly mistakes came in the fourth quarter when the Bengals had all the momentum in the world. Joe Burrow threw two brutal interceptions on back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter, one to Deandre Houston-Carson and the other to Shaq Griffin. Just when the Bengals caught fire and got themselves back in the game, Tyler Boyd, who had himself a great afternoon, dropped a TD pass from Burrow that would have given the Bengals the lead. Cincinnati had to settle for a field goal to tie the game.
In the closing seconds of the fourth quarter with the game tied, the defense allowed the Texans to march down the field and get within field goal range. The final offensive play before the field goal was a checkdown completion to Noah Brown, who ran 15 extra yards after the Bengals missed an opportunity to tackle him at the 35 yard line.
Texans skill players lead the NFL with 2.39 yards after contact per completion
and it's role players like Noah Brown bringing the extra thunder in the last few weeks pic.twitter.com/Nst34Ozxov
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) November 13, 2023
The drive culminated in a game-winning 38 yard field goal from Matt Ammendola, who was signed by the Texans earlier in the week.
If the Bengals want to make the playoffs this year, considering the brutal schedule they have ahead of them, and the fact that they are now in last place by a full game in the division, their consistency badly needs to improve.
A full roster is needed to keep pace with the rest of the division
The Bengals are seemingly losing pieces quickly, as Sam Hubbard and Tee Higgins were both out this week. Now, the Bengals may have lost another key piece for at least the near future.
#Bengals pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson, Top 10 in the NFL with 8.5 sacks, suffered a hyperextended knee when #Texans WR Noah Brown fell into him, source said. He's having an MRI, with the hope going in that it's a short-term absence.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 13, 2023
Going into a short week, it appears as if Cinncinnati could be without that trio going into a Thursday night matchup against Baltimore, who has been lights out aside from their recent loss to Cleveland.
Without those players, it may be tough to pull out a win against Baltimore on the road in prime time, especially since the Bengals historically struggle during those games. Since 2000, Cincinnati has been 1-23 in road prime time games, by far the worst record of that kind in the NFL.
Pressure on the quarterback must improve
Over the past two weeks combined, the Bengals have just two quarterback sacks. The one in the game against Houston, however, was a big one. Logan Wilson and Trey Hendrickson combined for a sack on Stroud in Bengals’ territory as the Texans’ signal caller was about to throw. On a controversial call, it was determined that the play was a fumble, and the Bengals retained possession.
This was ruled a fumble by C.J Stroud. Do you agree with the call? #HOUvsCIN pic.twitter.com/BmVHElZq30
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) November 12, 2023
Against the Texans, CJ Stroud looked comfortable in the pocket and was able to make the throws he needed to move the offense down the field. Pressuring the QB may not be an easy task on Thursday, as Lamar Jackson is one of the most electric players in the NFL. The Bengals will also likely be without their top two players in the sack category in Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard in the upcoming primetime matchup. But, for what it’s worth, the Ravens’ signal caller is tied for 7th in the NFL in sacks taken with 24.
There are no moral victories in the NFL. but the Bengals showed glimpses of their best self in a mistake laden contest. Everything they want is still in front of them, but if they don’t learn how to correct these issues the season could get away from them in a hurry.
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