3 Bengals to blame for complete collapse against Ravens on Thursday Night Football

Things were going very well for the Cincinnati Bengals. They had a 21-7 lead over the Baltimore Ravens and they had the football with the chance to really blow the game wide open. But then, things started to go south for Cincinnati. There was a lost fumble, some poor tackling, and four consecutive scores for the Ravens, and when all was said and done, Baltimore walked away with a 35-34 win.

Here's a look at three Bengals to blame for an epic collapse on Thursday Night Football.

Chase Brown, Running back

It's tough to be too critical of Chase Brown, as he has been excellent for Cincinnati all season, and he was productive against Baltimore as he compiled 94 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. But, his fumble in the third quarter of the contest proved to be a game-changer.

The Bengals were in complete control of the game prior to the fumble, and then the momentum completely shifted. Baltimore outscored Cincinnati 28-13 from that point forward to secure the win. The entire collapse obviously canned by pinned on Brown, but his fumble was the first domino in an unfortunate chain of events for the Bengals.

Cam Taylor-Britt, Cornerback

Cam Taylor-Britt had a rough night for the Bengals, but his most eggregious error was probably his missed tackle on Ravens receiver Tylan Wallace on this play:

If he made that tackle, the play would been an afterthought. Instead, Wallace was able to take it all the way in for a touchdown. Taylor-Britt wasn't the only player at fault on this play. Safety Geno Stone was slow to react and therefore wasn't in position to make a play, but CT-B had the first crack at it.

Taylor-Britt also sprinkled in a couple other errors, including a dropped interception in the fourth quarter.

Overall, it was a forgettable night for Taylor-Britt and Cincinnati's defense in general.

Zac Taylor, Head coach

It's easy to point the finger at the head coach when things don't work out, but Taylor had some head-scratching decisions in this game. He was extremely aggressive -- perhaps overly aggressive -- in fourth down situations. At times it seemed like he was trying to do an impression of Nick Sirianni. Going for it on fourth down is one thing, but unnecessarily taking downfield shots in that situation isn't ideal.

When it comes to the decision to go for two on the final score instead of playing for overtime, an argument could be made either way. But Taylor had a laundry list of questionable decisions in this game, and if the Bengals go on to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season, questions about his future are going to grow louder.