Have the Bengals Been Sufficiently Humbled?
Credit: Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
If you had told me the Bengals would start 0-3 in 2024, especially with home matchups against the Patriots and the Commanders in that span, I would have thought you were insane.
And yet, here we are.
It’s baffling in the worst kind of way. You sit back and think, “How can a team with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Trey Hendrickson go winless to start the season?” This is the core of a team that made a Super Bowl merely three seasons ago, and it’s not like they got old and washed up since then. It’s a team that, just a season ago, finished with a winning record despite having Jake Browning under center.
This team is too talented to be one of the three winless teams remaining in the NFL. Have the Bengals let their talent and recent success get to their head? Entering a game with a must-win feel, Cam Taylor-Britt acted like the school bully, trash-talking the Commanders and quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt broke down Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels’ game: “They don’t make him do a lot. They keep it really simple for him. Nice college offense. (Kliff) Kingsbury’s the OC.” pic.twitter.com/CeJKATlzmF
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) September 20, 2024
Well, guess what? You just lost to a college offense! It doesn’t matter what they do to beat you, it matters that they did. The NFL is a league where wins and losses are the ultimate determinant of where teams stand, and you’re on the one that’s got zero wins.
Taylor-Britt admitted afterward, “Yes, I can eat my words. But definitely, we took an ‘L’ as a team.” But the damage is done, and the flaws were there for all to see on Monday night. Cincinnati is a talented squad, but it’s been overconfident that the talent, or their past success, can get them out of any in-game jam, out of any slow start. That wasn’t true this year, and if they don’t fix things immediately, it won’t be true this season. Since the beginning of 2023, the Bengals are 9-11, and their record with their franchise QB is just 5-8.
New England and Washington, both underdogs by over a touchdown in Weeks 1 and 3 respectively, came into Paycor Stadium and outplayed, outperformed, and outcoached the Bengals. Zac Taylor’s was squad clearly the better team on paper, but how much did it matter?
It won’t unless the Bengals start not looking past teams they feel are inferior. They can start with that on Sunday, by not looking past the 1-2 Carolina Panthers and ahead to a Week 5 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. You wouldn’t think an 0-3 team would underestimate any lineup, but we would’ve thought that for an 0-2 team, and look what happened.
As much as talent can lead to overconfidence and let complacency take root, it’s obviously a great thing to have in a tough situation. Despite the 0-3 start, the Bengals still have a roster many thought was among the league’s best, and they still have Burrow.
It’s really tough to blame Burrow for this predicament. He’s fourth in the NFL in passing yards, tied for second in passing touchdowns, fourth in completions, first in blondest hair, and fifth in passer rating. In addition, he is the only QB in the NFL with over 100 pass attempts who has yet to throw an interception. Despite these statistics, the habit of finger-pointing at stars instead of the team’s actual shortcomings has once again reared its ugly head.
"JOE BURROW LET JOE BURROW DOWN.
JOE BURROW LET THE OFFENSE DOWN.
JOE BURROW LET THE TEAM DOWN.
great stats."@ChrisCanty99 is tired of all the Joe Burrow excuses pic.twitter.com/b3c1cJPJaL
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) September 24, 2024
Joe Burrow’s 324 yards and three touchdowns on Monday night had nothing to do with the defense allowing Jayden Daniels to complete all 19 passes he threw within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage. Burrow’s 127.5 passer rating was not the reason the Commanders converted all three of their attempts on fourth down. Burrow leading an offense that never punted is not to blame for the Bengals’ defense not forcing the Commanders to punt, either.
On ESPN’s “Get Up” on Tuesday morning, Domonique Foxworth strongly disagreed with Canty blaming Joe Burrow for the Monday night loss.
“If you are going back to analyze this tape and the first thing you do as a coach is go and get in Joe Burrow’s face and say ‘We need more out of you,’ you’re watching the wrong footage,” Foxworth said.
But even if Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks both in terms of stats and the eye test, he has no ability to overcome what the team does when he isn’t on the field. Objectively inferior teams like the Patriots and Commanders came in and won over a superior Bengals team. As a result, it made the upcoming matchup against the Panthers go from the gimmiest Gimme Game in the history of Gimme Games to a game in which the possibility of a loss is extremely legitimate.
All the pieces are still there. Cincinnati can make a Super Bowl run if everything comes together, even with the team starting 0-3. Taylor has climbed out of holes like this before, and has basically had to every year. But they can’t coast anymore, they can’t enter a game wiht arrogance, and they can’t take an opponent lightly. Football is more than accumulating the fastest, biggest, and strongest players, it’s a complex game that will humble you if you don’t treat it and your opponents with respect. The Bengals have astounding talent, particularly on offense, but unless the team can fix what’s gone wrong against the Patriots and Commanders, it won’t matter at all.
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