The Bengals Were Perfectly Aggressive Until They Weren’t
Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch
The Bengals’ theme of good offense and poor defense continued on Sunday, as they fell to the Baltimore Ravens in overtime in a back and forth affair by a final score of 41-38. Joe Burrow was spectacular, throwing for 392 yards and 5 touchdowns. However, he had one interception that put the Ravens in a perfect position to tie the game in regulation, which they did.
In overtime, the Bengals had a golden opportunity to put their season back on track, but an Evan McPherson missed field goal due to a fumbled hold by punter Ryan Rehkow allowed the Ravens to capitalize and make a game winning field goal of their own.
The play calling was conservative at the exact wrong time
Joe Burrow cooked all day. He threw for 394 yards and as many touchdowns in today’s game (5) as Akili Smith threw in his entire career. Burrow gave the Bengals absolutely no reason to not believe in him when the game was on the line. Unfortunately, Zac Taylor’s deep and undying love for conservative play calling once again did him in.
that is so horrible from Zac Taylor
run three times to set up a 53 yarder
absolutely atrocious game management
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) October 6, 2024
It was a rather mind boggling decision, especially considering that Zac Taylor made this decision against the best rush defense in the NFL.
The Bengals’ head coach has long been criticized for his situational play calling. Today, however, Taylor seemed to attack the Ravens’ middle-of-the-pack secondary on defense all afternoon. The game plan worked, as Burrow eviscerated Baltimore’s pass defense for a 137.0 passer rating. The Bengals had a golden opportunity to finish what they started after recovering a fumble on a mishandled shotgun snap by Lamar Jackson.
Gotta love seeing Germaine Pratt making big plays on Sunday 🐺❤️pic.twitter.com/ZcOZHxMmqZ
— Wolfpack Station (@wolfpackstation) October 6, 2024
Rather than sticking to the game plan that worked the entire game, Taylor instead decided to go with the run against Baltimore’s stout run defense with the game on the line. He also opted to call a timeout right before Evan McPherson went out to attempt the game winning field goal.
Watching Zac Taylor call plays to setup at 53 yard field goal only to ice his own kicker #Bengals #WeNotDey pic.twitter.com/o9Q07nbVpf
— Ryne Terry (@ryneterry) October 6, 2024
Even with Ryan Rehkow butchering the hold, blame should absolutely be placed on Zac Taylor for putting the team in that situation to begin with.
The secondary is falling apart
One week after getting picked apart by Panthers QB Andy Dalton (I’m still getting used to that sequence of words), they had even less of an answer for Lamar Jackson’s throwing arm. Lamar threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns and had a 119.94 passer rating. The final of his four passing touchdowns was a rather inexplicable one, as the Ravens’ signal caller turned a potentially blown play into a highlight-reel worthy touchdown to Isaiah Likely.
ANOTHER HOUDINI ACT FOR LAMAR 🪄
How did he find Isaiah Likely for six?
🎥 @NFLpic.twitter.com/fqfqRCO4Vh
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 6, 2024
Since containing Patrick Mahomes to 151 yards in Week 2, they have allowed a combined 113.27 passer rating to Jayden Daniels, Andy Dalton, and Lamar Jackson. The struggling secondary is a big reason why the Bengals only trail Carolina for most points allowed in the NFL.
The championship window is closing, and fast
“We’re not a championship level team right now. We’re not. I like to think that it’ll come back and improve throughout the season to get to that point, but right now, we are not.”
That was the blunt statement made by a disgruntled Joe Burrow, who did not mince words after the gut-wrenching defeat.
Going into the last few weeks, the Bengals’ fan base has seemed to adopt the mantra of “If we can get it together this week, perhaps the season can turn around”. Now, with the Bengals 1-4, time is very, very quickly running out. Even with the astounding level of play of Joe Burrow, it hasn’t been enough to overcome the deep flaws of the rest of the roster, particularly on defense.
The Bengals have a championship caliber roster, a championship caliber quarterback, and expensive wide receivers that are fully capable of bringing home a Lombardi trophy. With the undeniably talented roster on paper, expectations were sky high heading into the 2024 season. However, Cincinnati has seemingly squandered its opportunity to bring home hardware for the first time in its franchise’s history. The game against Baltimore was a crucial opportunity for the Bengals to regain their footing in the season. Instead, the Bengals now find themselves tied for having the worst record in the NFL despite having only a -5 point differential on the season.
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