The Bengals couldn’t buy a break in Week 6. Their record may have fallen to 2-4 but at least they refused to give up in the face of extreme adversity.
The Bengals still have many problems that must be addressed going into their next matchup. The biggest of those questions may very well still be the play of the offensive line. Cinci’s offensive line seems to pick the least opportune times to implode. Andy Dalton was taken down for sack/ safety just after the Bengals’ defense stopped the all mighty himself, Tom Brady, and gave the Bengals back the ball with a lead. Consistency must be a staple for offensive line if Cincinnati has any hope of making a turn around this year.
A surprising aspect of Sunday’s games was the pitiful performance of Cincinnati’s special teams. The lack of adequate coverage from both the kickoff and punt teams set Tom Brady and company up with great field position on more than one occasion. Giving Brady good field position is asking to be defeated. Between the suspect play of the offensive line and the lackluster special teams performance the Bengals would have needed a few breaks if they wanted to have any chance at a win.
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Cincinnati couldn’t buy a break in Week 6. The drives that most highlighted this fact occurred when Patriots had the ball midway through the fourth quarter. The Bengals were down 25-17 yet were within striking distance. On a third-and-12, Adam Jones was flagged on a phantom pass interference call. The penalty gave new life to the Patriots drive and things just became more peculiar from there.
Thug Life?
Rob Gronkowski proved once again to be a dumb thug by taunting Bengals’ players on back to back plays. Of course,the privileged Patriots’ tight end was only flagged after tossing the ball to the ground after the second play. On each of those two plays the “Simpleton Gronk” went out of his way to verbally assault Cincinnati players.
After the flag, Gronkowski acted as though he had done nothing wrong. Such behavior does happen and the Bengals have been guilty of it from time to time. Gronkowski, however, was given a privilege no Bengal ever has. Had a Cincinnati player committed back to back taunting offenses they would have surely been ejected.
New England was held to a field goal and Cincinnati still had hope only being down by 11 points. On a critical play, Bengals receiver Brandon LaFell nearly came down with a great catch. No flag was thrown even though the replay clearly showed the Patriot defender grasping LaFell’s wrist and hand. This was only one of many missed calls throughout the course of the game.
It would seem that unless you play for the Patriots, Steelers, Seahawks, Packers, or Cowboys you will always get penalized more. The love affair between the aforementioned teams and the NFL is utterly sickening. There is little that the Bengals can do but play on through these unfair circumstances.
The Solution
The bad calls and preferential treatment were only part of the trouble for Cincinnati. The Bengals must find a way to overcome their own mistakes and play better. In fact, Cincinnati will need to play nearly error free football in order to turn this season around. It has been proven time and time again that football is an unfair game, but the Bengals can’t quit.
On a positive note, this loss marks the end of the roughest streak of the Bengals schedule. From here on out Cincinnati has relatively winnable games. The toughest games remaining for Cincinnati will come against the Eagles, Redskins, Texans, and of course a return engagement with the Steelers.
Next: Bengals Get An F On Test
With ten weeks left in the season, Cincinnati stands at 2-4. Of the ten remaining games eight are easily winnable. Aside from the Steelers and Texans, who the Bengals habitually struggle against, every game is one that Cincinnati could and honestly should win. All that remains to be seen this season is can Cincinnati overcome adversity. Resiliency is a must if the Bengals are to overcome this season and get the chance to conquer their playoff woes.