You may not be in the mood to read very much about the Cincinnati Bengals’ 19-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Good. Because we’re not in the mood to write very much about it. Here’s the short and sweet about a game that was long and sour.
What Happened During the Cincinnati Bengals/Baltimore Ravens Game
For the 6th time in the last 8 games, the Cincinnati Bengals gave up points on the opening drive. This time it was a 14-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Breshad Perriman less than 5 minutes into the game. That set the tone and, for the rest of the day, Cincy was forced to play catch-up. They didn’t.
There was good and bad to quarterback Andy Dalton’s game. He threw for 283 yards but lost 2 fumbles in the red zone. Now that AJ Green is injured, it seems the only target Dalton has faith in is tight end Tyler Eifert. The Cincinnati Bengals’ TE led all receivers with 68 yards and a touchdown. The problem is, with no credible threat to take Green’s place, opposing defenses can key in on Eifert and neutralize the strength of the Bengals’ offense. You can guess how well Cincinnati moves the ball from there.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ O-line went up against a solid Ravens defense and performed like … well, a mediocre offensive line playing going against a solid defense. They mustered 64 rushing yards and gave up 3 sacks. Rex Burkhead provided the Bengal’s longest run of the day (17 yards with less than 5 minutes to go).
Kicker Mike Nugent missed his 3rd straight extra point. That’s bad enough for the difference it makes on the scoreboard. But it also gets into the kicker’s head. You gotta wonder about the mental state of a guy who can’t make an XP but must kick a 45-yard field goal late in the game. If we were Nugent, we’d get nervous if the Bengals’ front office pops up on the caller ID tomorrow.
Leave a Reply