The Cincinnati Bengals were probably a lot of people's "survivor" pick this week. It made sense as to why too, as they looked much improved with Joe Flacco at quarterback over Jake Browning. Plus, Week 8 pitted them against the winless New York Jets whose owner couldn't refrain from ripping them.
Well, as Bengals fans have grown accustom, the team found a way to lose in embarrassing fashion to the winless Jets. The Bengals had a big lead on the Jets, leading by as much as 14 points in the first half and looking like they were about to run away with the win.
As we know, that didn't happen. The Bengals, despite scoring 38 points, couldn't stop the Jets offense, one that had barely scored any points in recent weeks, and Cincinnati lost the game 39-38. Bengals center Ted Karras couldn't hide his disgust after the game and described the experience as a "numb feeling".
“There’s no stomaching. It’s a numb feeling," Karras said. "We let the Jets come in and beat us. Horrendous... We didn’t score 40. It doesn’t mean s***.”
Ted Karras furious after Bengals score 38 and still lose to Jets
Karras couldn't have cared less that his offense managed to score 38 points because, at the end of the day, his Bengals lost the game. What good does it do to score that many points if you don't end up as the victors? It makes sense that he's frustrated with the performance and result.
The Bengals not only blew a 14-point lead and went on to lose a game they needed to win to give them a more realistic chance of winning the AFC North in a year where it's winnable but they did so to a team that hadn't won a game all year. To lose to the Jets in that type of fashion is inexcusable.
It's good to see that Karras is upset with this performance. The Bengals were in a solid spot after beating the Steelers, as a win against the Jets would have gotten them to 4-4. The division would have been a possibility for them, especially considering they'd already taken down the Steelers already. To make matters worse, they looked to be on their way to a blowout win until they let the Jets scratch and claw their ways back into it.
Let's hope Karras and the rest of the Bengals back up their words following the game and we see a different version of this team next week when the Bears come to town.