By Conrad Clowers
Herald Sports Writer
Halloween has now past. How apt is it that the Bengals have Halloween colors of orange and black? I don’t remember a time where Cincinnati has lost the same way so consistently. You may have a blowout here, nail biter there, just flat out bad day here,..and so on. Not the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals. In 6 of the7 Bengal losses it has come down to a critical end of the game possession, field goal attempt, or defensive stand. Instead of being 6-0, 5-1, or 4-2 Cincy is ooooh and 6. The Bengals have not come through once, nada, zero, zilcho. Baltimore (twice), Kansas City, Los Angeles, Washington, and New England have ended practically the same way.
Cincinnati is not mathematically eliminated. But they may as well be. At 4-7 the best the team could end the season is 10-7. Even with a 10-7 record they would have to need help in getting in. Cincinnati has not beaten one team with a winning record in 2024. Not one. Victory has come over Carolina, NY Giants, Cleveland Browns, and Las Vegas Raiders. One would have to look at what is the problem?. Why can’t the Bengals beat good teams? It was just three seasons ago the Bengals had a mojo that carried in critical games en route to a Super Bowl appearance.
Much of the problem is defensive personnel, defensive schemes, offensive breakdowns, and special teams blunders. Bengals coach Zac Taylor, the ever positive Bengals coach, continues to put positive spins on the Bengals 2024. “I know this team. They have a lot of fight in them. They don’t qui,” said Taylor. The team may not quit physically, but mentally the critical errors at the worst time have doomed this season.
Cincy has six more attempts to get it right. They will have 2 weeks to absorb the loss to the Chargers. A bye is up next for the team. They will go on the home stretch of 2024 with the Steelers, Cowboys, Titans, Browns, Broncos, and finish with the Steelers. Fans may be getting their final glimpse of the core Bengals that went to the Super Bowl. Several contracts are up that could field a drastically different Bengal team in 2025. Maybe that’s a good thing. No matter what the personal, it can only get better. It can’t get much worse.