(11-14-2021, 07:59 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: Just an opinion but i think the Bengals throttled the Ravens then spent the week listening to everyone say how great and legit they are. Then they thought they could throw their helmets on the field and beat the Jets, then after that loss, they were so embarrassed that they came out tentative against the Browns.
Now they have time to sit back, regroup and come out strong against the Raiders and make a run.
Here's my opinion that, for whatever in the hell it's worth.
Going into the Jets game, they were feeling extremely confident (riding high on all the hype) because they had just blown out the Lions and Ravens in back to back weeks by a combined score of 75-28 and were on a 4-1 run since the Bears loss.
The Jets game was also their 3rd straight on the road and they had put out a ton of effort and energy in the blowouts, so I think there was also an element of lag, flatness (whatever you want to call out) when they took the field in NY. Just not the same level of energy or fire from the previous weeks.
Defensively, they planned for what they had seen on tape from NY to that point in the season. Except, that's not what they got when NY took the field. Instead, they literally borrowed and executed the Patriots offensive game plan from the week before where they got humiliated, which the Bengals D and staff was not prepared for at all...and couldn't really adjust to, for whatever reason.
All that combined led to a Jets upset and a very heartbreaking loss for the Bengals.
Then they go back home and face the Browns, having been dealt a pretty good blow to their confidence the week before, I felt going into the game that they needed to come out strong and take an early lead to that Jets game out of their minds. That didn't happen. Instead, the pick six was a huge momentum / emotional shift right out of the gate. To their credit, they came right back and tied it up...but then, a combination of mistakes on their part and big plays on the Browns part led to it getting out of hand pretty quickly.
It happens. In fact, it's happened a lot this season and to quite a few teams with winning records right now. Good teams have also suffered upsets in the past few weeks...some have been mind boggling.
I think the reason a lot of people have been so negative and frustrated is because the Bengals had those 2 things happen in back to back weeks, so it makes it look worse. But, if they would look around the NFL this year, specifically the 12 playoff contenders right now in the AFC, they would see that just about every team outside of the of the Titans and Patriots have either had a blowout loss or an upset loss, and some teams have had both. It puts things in a little more realistic perspective.
Speaking of the AFC playoff race...12 teams currently have at least 5 wins and only 1 team has more than 6.
Of the 12, only 5 have a point differential of 30 or more. The Bengals are on of those.
The Bengals rank 5th in the AFC in both points scored and allowed per game.
I guess what I'm saying is everything the Bengals want is there for the taking if they come out and coach / play their asses off these last 8 games, being more consistent on both sides of the ball. They have a golden opportunity in front of them to potentially win the division and/or also land a playoff spot.
I think there's plenty of reason to still be fired up, and hopefully they come of the bye and KEEP us fired up over these last 2 months.
Sorry for being so damn longwinded.
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