The Bengals Need To Get Out of Survival Mode
Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
“Beat me if you can, survive if I let you.”
If you’re a fan of 1990s professional wrestling, you immediately recognize the line above as the catchphrase of former Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) turned All Elite Wrestling (AEW) commentator Taz. If you are a Cincinnati Bengals fan, however, that might seem like an accurate assessment of the team’s 34-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
The month of September has traditionally been very unkind to Zac Taylor and Company, and 2024 was no exception. Thus, coming into Sunday, the Bengals and the word “desperate” went together better than career-oriented big-city women moving back to their small hometowns and Hallmark Channel Christmas movie plots. But on Sunday, they got some relief.
The Bengals got their first win of the season over an equally desperate Panthers team, one that, 1) just benched their franchise player in former Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and 2) shocked the world for its first win of the season a week earlier. Key to that Panthers’ victory was the play of Andy Dalton, the former long-tenured Bengals quarterback who suffered his own litany of indignities during his time wearing Orange and Black.
Breaking down the Bengals-Panthers game almost feels pointless, as the main thing that will matter to many fans is simply the result. The Bengals won; in a division with one team with many offensive problems (Cleveland), one still trying to find its offensive identity (Pittsburgh), and one that isn’t the beast most expected (Baltimore), the Bengals still have a chance to take the AFC North.
There’s just one thing they must do first: Get out of survival mode and start taking the fight to teams, instead of trying to outlast them.
Several positives in the Bengals’ victory suggest they can take it to opponents. The team discovered that it can, in fact, run the ball. Chase Brown racked up 80 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries (5.3-yard average). Ja’Marr Chase, in breaking three tackles while scoring a 63-yard touchdown with breakneck speed, continued to show why the price tag on his next contract is going to be worth every penny.
Throw in punter Ryan Rehkow’s booming 63-yard punt and the Bengals’ offense and special teams had a pretty good day. Joe Burrow’s side of the ball put up 400 yards of offense and both the offense and special teams set their defense up for success. Meanwhile, rookie safety Daijahn Anthony an atonement for his Week 2 pass interference gaffe at Kansas City, breaking up a fourth-down pass by former high school quarterback-turned-punter Johnny Hekker targeting tight end Feleipe Franks.
There were plenty of plays, however, that showed the Bengals are still playing in survival mode. Cam Taylor-Britt has gone from a shining star to one that looks to be on the verge of a self-induced supernova. His would-be interception was overturned with a penalty; he also suffered an injury on that play that seemingly bogged him down the rest of the game. This was especially evident on the 21-yard touchdown catch by Diontae Johnson, which kept Carolina in the mix at the end of the third quarter.
While the Bengals were able to produce an interception, thanks to defensive end Trey Hendrickson hitting Dalton’s arm on a throw early in the game, they were unable to register a sack Sunday (It didn’t help that Hendrickson — by far the best player on the team’s defensive line through the first month of the season — left the game with a head injury). Additionally, Burrow was visibly frustrated on the Bengals’ sideline after throwing his first interception of the season; the FOX cameras caught him shaking a Microsoft Surface tablet with furious anger following the turnover.
The most glaring thing, however, may have been that the Bengals closed out their victory less by imposing their will late in the game and more by letting the Panthers continually shoot themselves in the foot. While Franks failed to outbattle Anthony on the trick punt-turned-pass play, there were several instances where Dalton threw well-placed passes that were dropped by the Panthers’ receiving core.
Likewise, while Cincinnati got their running game going, Carolina did just fine on the ground themselves. Lead running back Chuba Hubbard gashed Cincinnati for 104 on 18 carries (5.8 yards per carry) with Miles Sanders — yup, Miles Sanders — gaining an additional 32 yards on just 6 carries (5.3 YPC). Instead of kill-shots, the Bengals offense threw a lot of jabs when Carolina was on the ropes. If Dalton had better weapons, the Panthers might have scored the upset.
Look, no one is complaining about the Bengals winning a game. After an 0-3 start, the last thing anyone in Who Dey Nation wants to hear is a Debbie Downer following their season-saving victory. But much like we saw against the New England Patriots earlier this season, the Bengals still, at times, feel like they’re content to play in survival mode. If the team is going to make the playoffs go on a run run, the bend-but-don’t-break model is going to have to change.
Even if the “1” in the win column is all that matters, the fact is that the 34-24 final score was far closer than it indicates. That Carolina was still in the game late into the fourth quarter is an issue. For the first two weeks of the season, the Bengals’ offense was the question. Now, for the past two weeks, those concerns have shifted to the defense, and not at a great time. The Baltimore Ravens, a team that always has a point to prove led by the type of quarterback that gives the Bengals’ defense fits, are up next.
If the Bengals wish to beat the Ravens, going into survival mode isn’t an option.
Channeling their inner Taz, however, is.
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