Despite a valiant comeback attempt in the second half after falling behind by three touchdowns over the first 30 minutes of action, the Cincinnati Bengals ultimately fell short against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football.
The Bengals fell to 4-7 on the season with the 34-27 loss, and their playoff hopes are looking pretty grim at this point. As a result, fans in Cincinnati are probably looking for somewhere to direct their ire after the frustrating loss, and we're here to help. Here's a look at three players to blame for Cincinnati's Week 11 loss to Los Angeles.
Evan McPherson, Kicker
The Bengals officially have a kicker problem. Evan McPherson has had his struggles so far this season, and those struggles continued in a major way against the Chargers on Sunday night as McPherson missed not one, but two go-head field goal attempts in the fourth quarter of the contest, pulling them both wide left.
Evan McPherson 0/2 on Field Goals to take the lead in the 4th quarter pic.twitter.com/bKr1NRZAGh
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 18, 2024
Evan McPherson...again pic.twitter.com/N2IRpKZtCc
— Underdog (@UnderdogFantasy) November 18, 2024
Those missed kicks proved very costly for the Bengals, and unfortunately that has become a bit of a trend for McPherson this season, as he has now missed a kick in four different one-score losses this season.
Bengals Kicker Evan McPherson has missed kicks in four different one score losses this season:
— Steven Cheah (@StevenCheah) November 18, 2024
- 1/2 XPs at KC (Bengals lost 26-25)
- 2/3 FGs vs. WAS (Bengals lost 38-33)
- 0/1 FG vs. BAL (Bengals lost 41-38 in OT)
- 2/4 FGs at LAC (Bengals lost 34-27)
Cincinnati is now 4-7
At this point, it will be tough for Cincinnati's coaching staff -- or fans -- to feel too confident in McPherson in big moments moving forward.
Cam Taylor-Britt, Cornerback
Cam Taylor-Britt talks a big game, but he hasn't been able to back it up too much this season. For the second time during the current campaign, Taylor-Britt was benched during the first half of the contest against Los Angeles.
For this second time this season, Lou Anarumo has benched Cam Taylor-Britt. He's on the sideline right now and Newton is in.
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) November 18, 2024
When Will Dissly caught a 29-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter of the contest, it appeared as though Taylor-Britt could have made a play on the ball, but was slow to react. You can be the judge of that for yourself. Here's a look at the play:
Herbert finds Dissly up the seam! 29-yard touchdown!
— NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2024
📺: #CINvsLAC on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/zBH6Cpwcm4
The effort on that play is likely to draw the ire of Bengals fans, and it also apparently drew the ire of Taylor-Britt's own teammates.
Melissa Stark reporting that Germaine Pratt looked at Cam Taylor-Britt and said “Wake Up!” on the sideline.
— Matt Edwards (@MattEdwards) November 18, 2024
That’ll probably fix things.
Cincinnati's defense -- and specifically the secondary -- has been suspect all season, and the unit's struggles can't be pinned on one player. But, Taylor-Britt has been underwhelming to say the least, and it looks like cornerback will be a position that the team needs to prioritize over the offseason.
The entire offensive line
The offensive line's struggles in this game can't be pinned on a particular player, so the entire unit can share the blame. Joe Burrow's stellar stats from the game (356 yards, 3 touchdowns) bely the fact that he was constantly under pressure throughout the course of the contest. As a team, the Chargers recorded three sacks and 14 quarterback hits. For comparison's sake, Cincinnati's defense was only able to record six QB hits on Justin Herbert. Burrow needs time to operate, and too often against the Chargers the protection simply wasn't there.