09/16/2024
I'm still not panicking, yet.
There is a lot to point at this week that cost us this loss. I love Ja’Marr Chase for his passion, fire, and competitive nature. It’s reminiscent of Chad Johnson, except Chad was much better at winning psychological battles; Chase let his emotions get the best of him and lost a fight against the rules, not the other team. These great players are a double-edged sword sometimes. Today, the team got the stabbing end of that sword.
McPherson misses a freaking extra point. I would have had him on a list with Justin Tucker and Harrison Butker a few years ago. As time passes, we begin to see cracks in his poise. I hope he doesn't end up like Nugent at the end of his run. He went from automatic to amongst the worst in the NFL, in a way I've never quite seen before in a kicker.
Then, at the very end of the game, we have a 4th and 16. Prevent defense should be an easy play with a bit of discipline. Why in the world the defensive coordinator felt it was wise to put in a 7th-round draft pick on such critical
play is beside me. This was likely his first appearance on downs in the NFL. Crazy. I know this unit probably practiced together, but this was not prevent because the game was in the bag. We needed experience in this play and we got the opposite. I guess the kid learned a valuable lesson on discipline in big moments. Hopefully, he will learn from it and be a better player for it.
You can't make these mistakes in a game of inches against Patrick Mahommes.
Even with Joe getting hurt last year, we can still argue he is one of the best pure pocket passing quarterbacks in the NFL, if not the best. When the guy is on the field, he wins much more than he loses. These early yearly losses give people amnesia about just how good he is.
Andy Dalton once won eight games in a row at the beginning of the season, 8-0 out the gate, to turn around and s**t the bed the 2nd half of the season and go one and done in the playoffs.
The football season is a marathon. And I'd rather not have our back against the wall all year long, every season, because we come out soft yearly. If I had to pick a quarterback who tends to lose at the beginning of the season and one who gets hot in the second half, I'd take the second half.
The Bengals' next three games are the Commanders, the Panthers, and the Ravens. If we can go 3-2 to start, that's much better than 0-4 and 0-5, putting us on a good trajectory. Especially since the Ravens have also dropped their first two.
The Steelers shouldn't be underestimated, either. They're not putting up a bunch of TDs, but their defense is stout. So far, they haven't needed to against the teams they've played. With that said, the Ravens and the Bengals are still the two teams favored to take the division, and they both dropped their first two games.
Some other good things? Gesicki is the real deal. Moss, is a bulldozer, he always falls forward. Some other players stepped up big today. A one-handed interception? How about those turnovers? And, maybe we will see why we are paying Tee Higgins in excess of $20 million this year soon? Mims also balled out in training camp and was touted over Trent Brown as the starter this season. We should expect to see them both play in the next few weeks.
We can only go up from here, and it looks like this team has its confidence back. Chill out Bengals fans. It is NOT time to panick, yet.
