“We’re a Second Half Team”

[*ochocincos*]

(09-19-2022, 12:24 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: I’m not buying the “second half team” excuse any longer.  Oh, sure, this worked against Kansas City twice last year but big comebacks are outliers in the NFL, not the norm.  While it is statistically true the Bengals have lost two games by a combined six points this season, in reality the games were not that close.  

Lou Anarumo has the defense playing at an above average level and this is why the Bengals went to the Super Bowl after running the tables in the playoffs.  All those big Burrow to Chase plays took place in the regular season. The Cincinnati defense is continuing their good play in 2022 but even they will have to tighten things up significantly to allow less points than the offense can currently score.  

The Cincinnati Bengals will not truly be great until they can play with physical intensity from the opening kickoff onward.  Just once I would like to see the team go into halftime with a huge lead instead of going into halftime way behind thereby requiring frantic adjustments to be made in the second half.  The best teams start strong and finish stronger.

This team can't rely on always having some big plays to Chase/Higgins every game.
Looking back to last year, the offense was stagnant a lot of the games apart from a couple big plays to get them the win in close games.

They need to be able to consistently march down the field utilizing both the passing game (specifically short/medium routes) and the running game if they want to be a perennial contender.