Subscribe
Follow Us
The Cincinnati Bengals are viewed as one of the most talented teams in the AFC, or at least they were at the start of the season. However, head coach Zac Taylor's team regularly gets off to slow starts and the Bengals are often forced to play catch-up football — both in a given game or the season-long standings.
They came into the their Week 5 game with the rival Baltimore Ravens with a 1-3 record. They had an inexplicable loss to the New England Patriots in Week 1 and also dropped games to the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders before they finally got into the win category against the lowly Carolina Panthers.
As a result, they had to come with their best effort at home vs. the Ravens. There's little doubt that the Bengals picked up their level of play considerably against Lamar Jackson & Co., and the Bengals had a 10-point nearly nine minutes into the fourth quarter when Joe Burrow hit Ja'Marr Chase with a spectacular 70-yard catch and run for a touchdown.
That 38-28 advantage appeared to leave the Bengals in an excellent position to pick up the victory, but the advantage disappeared. Baltimore would go on to tie the game up and win it in overtime.
Taylor had a brutal finish to the game and deserves much of the blame, but not all of it.
Zac Taylor's weak OT strategy pins key loss on his shoulders
The Ravens had tied the game in regulation on a Justin Tucker field goal and had all the momentum. The Ravens won the overtime coin toss and were moving the ball into Cincinnati territory and it was just a matter of time before they struck for the g0-ahead field goal or won the game with a touchdown in the overtime period.
However, fate seemed to intervene on behalf of the Bengals because Jackson fumbled the ball at the Bengals 44-yard line. Cincinnati linebacker Germaine Pratt recovered the loose ball and returned it 9 yards to the Baltimore 38.
The Bengals were set up to attack and win the game, but Taylor decided to play it safe and take the air out of the football. Instead of having Burrow throw the ball downfield — he had already thrown for 5 touchdowns — Taylor called for three interior runs that gained three yards.
He sent PK Evan McPherson out to try a game-winning 53-yard field goal, but the attempt went wide when the play was botched.
Two lays later, Justin Tucker won the game with a 24-yard field goal for the Ravens.
No guts, no glory for the Bengals or their head coach.
Holder Ryan Rehkow fails to do his job
It is fair to put the majority of the blame on Taylor, but he doesn't get all of it. If the Bengals had been successful on the long field goal attempt, they would have won the game.
McPherson is one of the most competent FG kickers in the NFL and he excels on attempts of 50 yards or longer. Certainly there was a lot of pressure on him, but he had an excellent chance to hit the game-winner at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.
However, the play failed to bring the winning results. Long snapper Cal Adomitis made a perfect snap, and Ryan Rehkow caught the ball without issue. However, when he went to place the ball on the turf with the laces out, he simply dropped the ball.
It was not raining and the ball was not slippery. However, Rehkow failed to negotiate the placement of the football on the ground successfully. As a result, McPherson's timing was ruined and ball went off to the left.
Rehkow was not up to the responsibility of holding the ball successfully.
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's unit is not getting the job done
The Bengals are one of the worst performing defensive teams in the NFL. Heading into Week 6 against the Giants, they rank 31st in points allowed as they are giving up 29.0 points per game.
Not only do the Bengals give up a lot of points, they rank 30th in rushing yards allowed as opponents are picking up 151.4 yards per game in that category.
It didn't get any better against the Ravens. With the team needing a couple of stops to hold on to a victory in the fourth quarter, the Bengals could not slow down Jackson as the Ravens rallied for 10 points in a 5-minute span to push the game to the extra session.
After the botched FG attempt, the Bengals needed the defense to stand tall. Instead, running back Derrick Henry ran 51 yards on the next snap and set Tucker up for the game-winning field goal.
The Bengals defense has been consistently brutal this season and that unit was at its worst when the team needed something positive to happen. It is fair to question Anarumo and the way he is employing his players.
