The Cincinnati Bengals’ offense was absolutely embarrassed in week five against the Baltimore Ravens, leading to a blowout loss.
Very few entered week five expecting the Cincinnati Bengals to come away with a victory. After all, Zac Taylor’s squad entered the AFC North clash against the Baltimore Ravens as a double-digit underdog. However, even the most pessimistic analysts couldn’t have predicted the embarrassing 27-3 defeat witnessed.
The game took a turn for the worst right away. The defense gave up points on each of the opening three drives, in part, thanks to an early interception from Joe Burrow gave them a short field to quickly make the score 17-0.
The defense tightened up from there on out, only surrendering a field goal the rest of the way, but the offense failed to get anything going. Not only did they turn the ball over three times, but they also allowed the tenacious Ravens defense to get in on the scoring fun.
Injuries make matters worse for the Bengals
If the blowout loss weren’t enough, Cincinnati suffered numerous injuries to key players along the way. D.J. Reader was knocked out of the game with a knee injury, Sam Hubbard was sent to the locker room thanks to an elbow injury, and A.J. Green was sidelined with a hamstring ailment.
While those three will garner most of the attention, Geno Atkins’ situation looks troubling as well. After a mysterious injury kept him out for the opening four weeks of the season, he finally made his return. Unfortunately, he saw a limited role at best.
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo opted to start Christian Covington over Atkins, who carries the second-largest cap hit on the team. Even once play got underway, the former franchise cornerstone saw very little action, often watching from the sideline as lesser-known players soaked up the snaps.
As Cincinnati comes to grips with a humbling loss against a divisional rival, they must gear up to take on another tough defense in one week’s time, the Indianapolis Colts. They may have to do so without some of their best players as well.