I Still Can't Believe We Lost

[kevin]

It wasn't looking good, wasn't looking good, wasn't looking good.......and then AJ got the ball to AJ in the end zone...and I'm thinking, " We are ahead. The defense kept us in the game and we are ahead "......of course they had Big Ben, but when Burfict intercepted the ball.....then he ran down the field the wrong way into the wrong end zone, and announcers said that could be a safety and Steelers get the ball also, I was worried.....but Refs said he was down on the interception, and almost no time left on the clock.......For a few seconds I could see the team going the most years without a play-off win, that was over. The monkey was off our backs. We were finally going to have that play-off win. Who knows, if we get Dalton back and McCarron just beat Steelers, we could get healthy and make a Super Bowl run. For a few seconds this whole thing of never winning in the play-offs jinx's was gone......and then......The Fumble......still, there was just seconds on the clock. Sure this is Big Ben, but our defense has stopped him before. Just seconds and they have to go a long way to get in field goal position.....and then on one play, the refs hit us with 30 yards in unsportsmanlike penalties. Big Ben didn't even have to move them into field goal range. Big Ben was a non factor. The refs and the penalties and the emotions of the game getting the best of the players and the fans and the coaches....but 30 free yards with no time ticking off the clock.....and then the easy field goal giving Steelers the win with no time on the clock......30 free yards with just seconds left.....Another play-off loss.....Still since 1990 season since a Play-Off win.....and this one hurt the most......because AJ had hit AJ in the end zone to take the lead. Burfict had intercepted Big Ben right after that....So it looked like in the last minute of the game, we had pulled out one of the great wins in Bengals history......only to see it become one of the stupidest ways to lose a game in Bengals history......I still can't believe we lost that game.....It sickens me.....that is a loss that will hurt for a long time.....OK, the fans out of control is one thing, but the players and the coaches losing control is another. The complete loss of focus on the game and the time clock. Yes emotions are a part of the game, but this game got way out of control. The players and coaches lost focus on the play clock and that the worst, the worst thing they could do was give the Steelers 30 free yards with no time ticking off the clock. ...Football turned into TV Wrestling and to the benefit of The Steelers. The Bengals coaches and players just gave the game away. .....It doesn't help much that the NFL now says Porter should have been flagged also and it should have only been 15 free yards....The fact remains it was 30 free yards and then a game winning field goal. ....Bengals took the lead with a minute left in the game, made the quick interception. ...I still can't believe we lost that game........That was a perfect example of the coaches, players and fans letting their emotions get the better of them. That they had so much hate for the Steelers, that they forgot about closing out the last minute and forgot about getting the first Play-Off win in 25 years. Perfect example of letting their emotions get the better of them........AJ McCarron to AJ Green should have made McCarron the first quarterback to win a Play-Off game for Bengals since Boomer Esiason. It should have been Marvin Lewis first Play-Off win. It should have been Mike Browns first Play-Off win. 25 years without a Play-Off win, over 30 free yards in unsportsmanlike penalties at games end causing the loss. Emotions out of control and total lack of focus, not closing out the win.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

Less ellipsis, more paragraphs, then more people will read it. 

[*Nately120*]

I still can't believe people still can't believe we lost.

[Tiger Teeth]

(06-15-2016, 04:11 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Less ellipsis, more paragraphs, then more people will read it. 

Yeah, that is hard to read.  Gave up less than halfway through it.  kevin - use paragraphs man.

[BengalChris]

(06-15-2016, 04:16 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I still can't believe people still can't believe we lost.

Yeah, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and to be surprised that we find a way to lose in 2015 shouldn't surprise anyone?

That's a pretty impressive string of losses. Have we set some kind of record?

Well, I decided to look up some records.

1. Longest current playoff win drought belongs to the Bengals at 25 years (1991 to date), which most people already know. The Detroit Lions are second at 24 years.

2. Longest current years since an appearance in conference championship game belongs to the Bengals at 28 years (1988 to date).

3. Longest current playoff losing streak is shared between the Bengals and the Lions, both with 8.

4. Years since last championship game appearance we are 7th at 27 years. The Lions are the worst at 58 years.

5. Record playoff losing streaks for all time are as follows (the record is 8 and it has been done 3 times,):
Cincinnati Bengals (1990 to present)
Detroit Lions (1991 to present)
Kansas City Chiefs (1994 to 2014) They ended their streak with a win in the 2015 playoffs.

[Atomic Orange]

[BFritz21]

(06-15-2016, 04:16 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I still can't believe people still can't believe we lost.

I didn't even attempt to read the OP, but I think I agree with him.

When Burfict intercepted that ball, I literally started crying in happiness because the game was over and started thinking about where we'd go downtown after the game and how easy it was going to be to get laid (we were at the game).

Then the fumble on a play that I wasn't even paying attention to because I was gathering everything up to roll out and wanted to leave that second to beat the crowds.  

I was still thinking "ok, that's still a long way to go to even get into field goal range."  

Then Burfict's penalty and then Jones'.

I was just sitting there in disbelief and couldn't move.

Then they kicked the field goal and I was crying in sorrow.

Sorry I'm not sorry.

It still doesn't seem possible.

[*Nately120*]

(06-16-2016, 12:20 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: I didn't even attempt to read the OP, but I think I agree with him.

When Burfict intercepted that ball, I literally started crying in happiness because the game was over and started thinking about where we'd go downtown after the game and how easy it was going to be to get laid (we were at the game).

Then the fumble on a play that I wasn't even paying attention to because I was gathering everything up to roll out and wanted to leave that second to beat the crowds.  

I was still thinking "ok, that's still a long way to go to even get into field goal range."  

Then Burfict's penalty and then Jones'.

I was just sitting there in disbelief and couldn't move.

Then they kicked the field goal and I was crying in sorrow.

Sorry I'm not sorry.

It still doesn't seem possible.

I was less surprised because it was pretty similar to the way we lost the game in AZ earlier in the year (and in prime-time, no less).  

- Offense fails to stick the dagger in them
- Defense allows opposing QB to hit targets we KNOW he's going to go for (Ben targets Brown, Palmer targets Fitzgerald...shocker!)
- It's no lock their QB puts them in position as AZ has no timeouts and 50-some seconds, and Pig Ben can't throw the ball more than 15 yards)
- But just to make things easier on them we supply unnecessary penalties to ensure they have a clear shot at a game-winning FG
- ...which they make.

It looked pretty familiar to me. To quote a sit-com dad "I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised."

[Wes Mantooth]

I can't believe that you can't believe that. I just can't.

[Air Force 1]

As emotional as it was to watch that game it taught me a few things about the Bengals team..
1. We are that good. I'm always hesitant to say it but we have a damned good team.
2. Andy Dalton is "THAT" important to the team. I don't think this game would've been close had he played.
3. The defense is good but can get better. We need everyone playing on Adam Jones and Burfict's level. Just without the mental mistakes.
4. The Bengals need to learn to put teams away. When its crunch time they must not make the dumb mistakes..Or have the mental lapses
5. We are the bullies of the AFC North. Pitt is still crying and they won the game. Marvin Lewis shouldn't pull the reigns on them one bit. Make teams understand that its going to be a painful and rough day when you play the Bengals. I'm not saying late hits and such but they need to be even more aggressive in my opinion.
6. There isn't a team with maybe the exception of New England that we don't present match up problems against. This is very complete and deep roster. They can beat you in a multitude of ways and they don't give up.

Yeah I want that playoff win as much as anyone but the Bengals are going to have to go out and take it. No one in the NFL is ready to anoint anything upon them. So I say screw it and go balls to the walls for the Lombardi Trophy..Lord knows if they win it, it will probably piss the whole football world off and I'd be completely fine with that.

WHO-DEY!

[BoomerFan]

It is pretty shocking that we had the lead and the ball with a minute and a half to go and we blew it. The odds of us winning should've been like 99% at that point. I know that will haunt Hill and the fans for a very long time.

[XenoMorph]

(06-15-2016, 04:11 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Less ellipsis, more paragraphs, then more people will read it. 

2nd

[BengalsRocker]

(06-16-2016, 06:04 AM)BoomerFan Wrote: It is pretty shocking that we had the lead and the ball with a minute and a half to go and we blew it. The odds of us winning should've been like 99% at that point. I know that will haunt Hill and the fans for a very long time.

I'm paraphrasing here from Billy Madison...

" I feel like watching that game made me and the rest of the audience feel more stupid from watching it. "

[*Go Cards*]

This nightmare of a games ending will always be haunting to me.

But after years of Bengals allegiance it did not shock me.

But damn it was a long, wet ride home that evening.

[*Nately120*]

(06-16-2016, 05:23 AM)Air Force 1 Wrote: 5. We are the bullies of the AFC North.

This is sort of a general rant on my part, but is "bully" really a positive term to give a team?  In my mind a bully is someone who is able to pick on those smaller/weaker or in a position of disadvantage but collapses when faced with an opponent at his level or above.  Just my observation.

[BengalsRocker]

(06-16-2016, 12:08 PM)Nately120 Wrote: This is sort of a general rant on my part, but is "bully" really a positive term to give a team?  In my mind a bully is someone who is able to pick on those smaller/weaker or in a position of disadvantage but collapses when faced with an opponent at his level or above.  Just my observation.

Yeah.  "Dominant" is more the word of choice rather than bully.

Bullies are usually cowards that pick on lesser opponents or those who do not even fight back... only to cower in fear of those at or above their level of force.

[grampahol]

I got over it during the aftermath when I swore I would NEVER follow this team again. That of course lasted a few days and I just had to come back and pretend that I didn't say any such thing.

Nobody rememers it because everyone else was probably saying something very similar.
It's kind of funny in a way. I get the feeling almost as if I just found out my wife was hanging all of my best friends at the same time while I was laid up in the hospital on deaths door.
Heck, it's easier to dump wives than the Bengals. That in itself is kind of sad.. lol
I've gotten over two wives.. I can't say the same thing about the teams I follow.. I'm sure there's some psychiatric term for this.. Batsh*t crazy perhaps?

[Air Force 1]

Umm,, No I wont back off the word "Bullies" ..You see the reason I used it was because for the longest time the Bengals took it on the chin from everyone especially the Steelers and Ravens. Any cheap shot they could take, any advantage they could get, they took. (I say this more for Pitt than Balt.) If a Bengals player was face down on the field, they could've cared less and pretty much rejoiced in it. It was a mentality of just being more physical than the Bengals and they would fold, cry and lick their wounds. Those days are gone, and now even in victory they complain about the Bengals hitting, or the trash talk. They loved to dish it out as long as they never had to take it back.  Now'-a-days, the Bengals initiate the physicality. They don't back down when challenged and they are quick to "knock em in the chops" if that's the kind of game you want to play. The Bengals used to be intimidated very easily and now they are the Intimidators...That is why I used the word "Bullies"...

[BengalFanInNJ]

Which game are you talking about?

[jj22]

It'll be a long time before this game is forgotten. Painful game to experience as fans (Pacman and the fans crying at the end reflects all of our emotions after it), and it will be in the top 10 meltdowns on NFL network long after we leave this earth.

Only thing is my hatred for the Steelers and the beating they took sooths the pain some. But they still won, and we still got the bad rep. Only thing gong to get the bad feelings to go away is a playoff run.

Hard to slam the fans for still trying to come to terms with the outcome of the game when the Steelers (who won) still talk about it and take shots at the city due to the bad feelings that still linger. If anything they should be the ones that got over it, they won and that's trumps everything (even a beatdown). They've handled it with less class then Bengals players (who act as though they've moved on).