The Bengals are back to OK-ness, which is where they’ve belonged all along, anyway. In the last two weeks, they wasted the chances afforded them by home cooking, (reasonably) good health, OK and jet-lagged opponents and the nosedive of the AFC North.
The Men were given a month’s worth of chances Sunday. They muffed them, literally and otherwise. In no particular order:
Jessie Bates’ dropped INT.
Winning the OT coin toss.
Opting not to go for it twice in the 1st half, on 4th-and-1 from the Niners 19 and 4th-and-2 from the Niners 10.
Committing a taunting penalty that led to a 49ers touchdown to close the 1st half, instead of what would have been a 46-yard field goal try.
Recap: Bengals give away another game at home
Column: Bengals given every chance, have yet to follow through
Analysis: What we learned from Sunday's game
Surviving a missed 47-yarder by SF kicker Robbie Gould at the end of regulation that would have won the game.
And so on.
The Bengals have four games left, the AFC playoff picture is shape-shifting confusion, so maybe they make the dance, anyway. But after the past couple weeks, how meaningful might that be?
Without further ado. . .
TEN THINGS.
1. The Men took their traditional first-half nap. Last week, it was 13-24 at the break, this week it was 6-17. Joe Burrow seemed to shrug it off. “We’ve kinda been a 2nd-half team the whole season,’’ he said. You might wanna change that.
2. Mike Hilton said some folks weren’t prepared to play. Last week, Higgins and Mixon said the same thing. With what’s at stake and how hard they’ve worked to make December matter, how could that possibly be the case?
3. As of today, the Bengals have one win over an opponent with a winning record, the reeling Ravens. They’re 2-1 v. Detroit, Jax and the Jets, who are a combined 6-32-1.
4. Impressive creativity from Kyle Shanahan. Every other play was a magic trick for SF’s offense, especially in the 1st half. Meantime,
5. Taylor loves Joe Mixon.
6. Which led to some sketchy play calling in overtime, when it was apparent that Burrow could not be stopped, at least not by San Francisco’s defense.
7. I am beyond tired of the phrase “It’s all there in front of us .’’ Yeah? Go get it, then. That said. . .
8. Taylor really shouldn’t have said, “I don’t think anyone wants to play us.’’ Even if it were true it sounds bad after a 2nd home loss in a row. And I’m guessing Denver would rather play Cincinnati Sunday than KC or the Chargers.
9. The taunting call on Vonn Bell was as lame as most taunting calls are. But you have to know that and deal with it. It’s not changing anytime soon.
10. Lots of San Fran fans among the, um, modest crowd of 50,481.
11. The first TD from Burrow to Chase – the QB scrambling, the wideout free-lancing, the pair reading each other’s minds – was a work of football art. The telepathy between the two is remarkable.
12. Burrow was very good down the stretch. Garoppolo was better: 6-for-6 on the winning drive, 80 yards and a touchdown.
Now, then. . .
PERSPECTIVE can be hard to come by on the Morning After, but it’s worth noting that Burrow’s mere presence gives the Bengals hope for better days. I don’t recall the last time a Bengals team was down 14 with 10 minutes to play and I said to myself, “this isn’t over, I think they’ll win’’ as I did Sunday. Not even Carson Palmer inspired that level of belief. Maybe Boomer in 1988.
Regardless, Burrow remains arguably the most special player in Bengals history. And, given the team’s increasingly tenuous existence in our town, the most important. The Lease hangs over the proceedings like the Sword of Damocles (lookitup, kids). It’s up in ’26. It needs to be extended at least a year before that. If the Bengals aren’t very good very quickly, keeping them around will not be easy. Burrow will have a huge influence on that. The clock ticks.AND THE MEN AREN’T ANY WORSE OFF in the North today than they were when they woke up Sunday morning. If that thrills you.
THE BENGALS WOULDN’T PAY HIM BECAUSE they thought he was too old. Big Whit turned 40 Sunday. Tonight, he’ll be the first 40-year-old left tackle to start an NFL game. From PKing:
“I don’t know when exactly it happened, but eventually it became a goal of mine, to play at a good level at 40,” he said. “But it never really felt like it was tangible, possible. As I got closer and closer, I was attacking my work and my craft, and I could still play, and I was enjoying it. Then the injury last year happened, and I’m leaving the field on the cart thinking the chances of playing again were not great. People were like, you don’t come back from that injury and keep playing at 39.
“I’m stubborn. I don’t like being told what to do. I know people felt like it was the end for me, and so then I had to do it. I had to try to play again. It’s just like me and golf. People say you can’t be 6-7 and 330 and play golf well, and I’m like, I’ll show ‘em. I’ll prove ‘em wrong. Being stubborn, I’ve discovered, is a great motivator.''
THE SHOOTOUT WASN’T ALL THAT WONDERFUL for a fan with no blood in the game. I wrote that it was “shocking’’ how much better XU was and how obvious the Musketeers talent advantage was. UC fans reacted a couple specific ways. (XU fans almost never react at all. Never have.)
A. Football gets all the money now. I haven’t seen numbers to that effect. Even if it’s true, Huggs and Mick succeeded without it. You can win lots of games without a private plane at your disposal.
B. It’s John Brannen’s fault. Why? Brannen had two years. One was a COVID-19 caused mess. He shared a regular season title one year; he made the conference tournament title game the next. UC’s best player, David DeJulius, is a Brannen guy.
We can agree that Wes Miller needs time to turn things around. We can also agree that, like Brannen, he got a late start on the recruiting trail. But the guys he brought in are not difference makers. That is not John Brannen’s fault. Nor is it his problem that he was callously dumped for reasons that, as far as we know, were specious.
Conversely, Xavier’s roster is deep, experienced and skilled. Jack Nunge won’t gobble up Big East post guys the way he ate UC’s trio of ineffectives. But he’s a big-time big man who can score, run the floor and won’t hurt them defensively. X has half a dozen guys who can score.
Ironically, Travis Steele will be judged more acutely than Miller this winter.
WHAT DO WE CALL 55 degrees and sunny in December? Climate change? Or a gift?
URBAN MEYER is making a mess of the Jaguars, and we didn’t think that was possible. Is there anything more redundant than “Jaguars mess’’? Reports are that Urb argued with former Bengal Marvin Jones, dissed his coaches as “losers’’ and is now killing the messenger. Jax Times-Union:
Though Meyer denied there is tension between him and his players and staff, he still threatened any source within the organization who may be leaking information.
''If there is a source, that source is unemployed,'' Meyer said. ''I mean, within seconds, if there's some source that's doing that.''
He’s a great coach who has never mastered the skill of accepting responsibility when things go south. He’s learning what other college coaches before him (that means you, Nick Saban) have learned: The NFL isn’t college, you are not a dictator, you are not the show. And once you lose a locker room, it’s very hard to get it back. No conga-line of freshly minted Five Stars walking through the door, blindly worshipping you, because they need you more than you need them.
TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . Spent a few hours over the weekend putting together a playlist for a party we’re throwing this week. All Christmas tunes. I love me some Apple Music. The undisputed champion remains Darlene Love doing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
This one’s pretty good. Broooce on Conan O’Brien.
