Loss that hurt the most in Bengal history

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(03-22-2017, 08:46 PM)Pat5775 Wrote: I think the 2015 game was more "won" (in the super bowl the :34 remained after the 49ers scored, not when they started the drive) but that's irrelevant. The 2015 implosion didn't surprise me either. Once Hill fumbled I knew, I had that familiar sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that we were going to blow that one. I just didn't know how... 

Anyway, I know the super bowl losses weren't easy. I was a mere 3 months old when it happened but I've seen the full game replay a few times. Again, what did the 49ers do wrong? Honestly, it looked to me like they won against our BS "prevent defense" strategy. If anything I'm more pissed with how our coaches handled the lead in that game. Very reminiscent of our current Marvin Lewis era. 

Sammy Wyche was an innovator....Dick LeBeau was thebDC.  These cats were a FAR cry from Marv. Boomer had a bum shoulder.....or that offense probably wins that game going away.  We still had a punchers chance.

[Pat5775]

(03-22-2017, 09:17 PM)Wyche Wrote: Sammy Wyche was an innovator....Dick LeBeau was thebDC.  These cats were a FAR cry from Marv. Boomer had a bum shoulder.....or that offense probably wins that game going away.  We still had a punchers chance.

Very true. The game should have been won, in fact I remember Boomer saying the tv networks were having him say the "I'm going to Disneyland!" Thing as Joe was driving the 49ers 90 yards for the win... Agonizing   

I wasn't thrilled with our defensive positioning in the waning moments but I'm sure they were gassed. Maybe it wasn't coaching... Maybe Joe and Walsh were just better than our defense that final drive

[impactplaya]

The 2016 playoff loss to the Steelers is the worst loss far wrose than the SB loses.
Those 49ers teams were loaded with HOF talent. Those were great teams
The 2015 16 Steelers team was a good team.
The Bengals behind a QB making his 5th career start rally from 15 0 and score 16 straight
I watched a single player on defense put the whole game on his shoulders
And clinch it with a amazing diving INT
THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN SOMETHING SO FUNDAMENTAL AS HOLDING A FOOTBALL
Becomes a turning point in the Game.
Ive never seen on any level of sports a meltdown of that magnitude
That loss was devastating it carried over into the next season.

[BengalsRocker]

"The Meltdown" for sure.

Not only did our players bungle it up like Gilligan but our HC played the Skipper part to the T.

Idiots together for ever and ever.

[BURROWorBUST]

(03-22-2017, 12:06 PM)bengals67 Wrote: Is there any dispute that the loss that hurt the worst was the 2016 playoff loss to Steelers?

I remember the game my favorite Bengals coach Sam Wyche tried to run out the clock against San Francisco, failed and Montana then hit Rice in the end zone with a 30 yard pass or so on the last play. That was bad.

Also the Leon Hall pushing the ball up in the air to the Denver receiver ( Decker?) a few years ago.

Neither of these games were playoff games or against the Steelers.

The two Super Bowl losses were killers but we did not make an incredible comeback and then give the game away like we did against the Steelers.

Thoughts?

Two words: Louis Billups

[*bfine32*]

I can only assume those that did not say the 89 Superbowl weren't around to see it. Given I was just learning to like the Bengals in the 1st SB as I had just relocated to Cincy and was still partly a Cowboys fan.

[Nicomo Cosca]

Nice feelgood thread you got going here...

[ElkValleyBengal]

(03-23-2017, 12:10 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Nice feelgood thread you got going here...

Ha, for sure..

If you extend the scope of "loss", you might say Greg Cook's injury was the Bengals' greatest loss.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(03-22-2017, 09:34 PM)Pat5775 Wrote: Very true. The game should have been won, in fact I remember Boomer saying the tv networks were having him say the "I'm going to Disneyland!" Thing as Joe was driving the 49ers 90 yards for the win... Agonizing   

I wasn't thrilled with our defensive positioning in the waning moments but I'm sure they were gassed. Maybe it wasn't coaching... Maybe Joe and Walsh were just better than our defense that final drive

It was one helluva game.  To this day.....it was the best Super Bowl I've ever watched. Our d was gassed.....and its heart and soul broke his leg in the first half. He refused to leave the stadium for emergency surgery and watched the game from the locker room. It was a heartbreaker. Some of it was the positioning....some of it was the coolest customer I've ever seen at QB....and some of it was just spent players. It was the perfect storm. I just remember the "gut punch". In 2015.....I was just looking for that other shoe to drop.....I knew it was coming.

[Interceptor]

(03-22-2017, 01:04 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: 1st Super Bowl loss.  4 shots from the 1, couldn't get it in.

Had they won that game, a lot of history since would be much different.

This.

#2 - the 2nd Super Bowl loss.
#3 - 12/08/2016 - we didn't let the Steelers touch the endzone all game and we STILL lost. I think this game defined the state of the team for the last 10 years. 

I love this team.
I love the players we have.
I hate the coaching staff.
I hate the (mis)management.

[GodFather]

For me it was obviously the two Super Bowls, but other than those it was the 2005 playoffs and how magical that season felt and how we lost that playoff game against the Steelers with Palmer going down. It was a heartbreaking way to end the season.

[Fan_in_Kettering]

To my mind, the most significant losses in Cincinnati history took place in the final weeks of the 2003 regular season. To make the playoffs, the Bengals had to beat the St. Louis Rams or the Cleveland Browns -- and the team choked both games away. The game against the Browns was especially painful because it took place at Paul Brown Stadium and the Bengals weren't even close. It was the first time I doubted Marvin Lewis' ability to close a deal when a game is on the line. I believe these experiences led to the Bengals choking away playoff opportunities and making them scared in actual playoff games.

[packerbacker]

The Bengals deserve a SB win. I hope they get it soon.

[fredtoast]

(03-23-2017, 10:53 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: To my mind, the most significant losses in Cincinnati history took place in the final weeks of the 2003 regular season.  To make the playoffs, the Bengals had to beat the St. Louis Rams or the Cleveland Browns -- and the team choked both games away.  The game against the Browns was especially painful because it took place at Paul Brown Stadium and the Bengals weren't even close.  It was the first time I doubted Marvin Lewis' ability to close a deal when a game is on the line.  I believe these experiences led to the Bengals choking away playoff opportunities and making them scared in actual playoff games.

'06 has already been mentioned, but, needing just one win in the last two games to make the playoffs the Bengals...

Botch an extra point on what should have been a brilliant game tying td pass with just seconds left in week 16

Miss a chip shot 34 yard game winning FG with seconds then lose in oovertime on a 80 yard broken play td in week 17

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(03-23-2017, 12:43 PM)packerbacker Wrote: The Bengals deserve a SB win. I hope they get it soon.

I don't know if THEY do, but us fans sure do! LOL

[Shake n Blake]

(03-23-2017, 01:53 PM)Wyche Wrote: I don't know if THEY do, but us fans sure do! LOL

I know a lot of the "positive" posters around here don't believe the grumbling would stop, but I think a championship would have a massive impact on this fan base and the Cincinnati area. Cincy wants to love the Bengals. I didn't even like football in 1988 (I was 7 years old), but I do remember how electric the city was. Super Bowl shirts being sold all around the area, "welcome to the jungle" being blasted everywhere. It was a great feeling.

We wouldn't recognize the fanbase after a championship. I think the change in attitude would be significant.

[coachmcneil71]

Paul Brown deserved a championship. The city of Cincinnati & it's fans deserve a championship. I'm not sure that current management and ownership deserves one, but bringing one to the city & fans would go a long way in regaining our trust.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(03-23-2017, 03:36 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I know a lot of the "positive" posters around here don't believe the grumbling would stop, but I think a championship would have a massive impact on this fan base and the Cincinnati area. Cincy wants to love the Bengals. I didn't even like football in 1988 (I was 7 years old), but I do remember how electric the city was. Super Bowl shirts being sold all around the area, "welcome to the jungle" being blasted everywhere. It was a great feeling.

We wouldn't recognize the fanbase after a championship. I think the change in attitude would be significant.

Agree.  Hell, I crowed after 2005....for a bit....until the losses became redundant.  You'd be hard pressed to find a happier fan than me.  I waited 15, then 6, then 14 more years for National Titles in NCAAF after a few "wide rights", it's been four years since, and I'm still pleased as punch with my squad.  I still sport Reds gear, and it's been 27 YEARS!   I understand the plight of the Reds, and the Seminoles.....I don't get Mike Brown.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-23-2017, 03:59 PM)Wyche Wrote: Agree.  Hell, I crowed after 2005....for a bit....until the losses became redundant.  You'd be hard pressed to find a happier fan than me.  I waited 15, then 6, then 14 more years for National Titles in NCAAF after a few "wide rights", it's been four years since, and I'm still pleased as punch with my squad.  I still sport Reds gear, and it's been 27 YEARS!   I understand the plight of the Reds, and the Seminoles.....I don't get Mike Brown.

You summed it up right there. UK Basketball went 13 years between titles with some pretty weak Tubby and Gillespie teams mixed in there, and I never lost hope in them. You just know that they take basketball very seriously and they'll right the ship eventually. It's hard to have such faith in Mike Brown with his backwards way of thinking and tendency to use his own mistakes as reasons to never try something again.

[t3r3e3]

(03-22-2017, 04:19 PM)Wyche Wrote: That was Billups, right?  

It was Billups, but it was before Rice caught the game tying TD in the 4th quarter, not the play before Taylor's game winner.