Film Room: Fundamental Fail

The simple things hurt the Bengals this week.

The Cincinnati Bengals lost this game on fundamentals. New England played a much cleaner game, and that was that.

Oddly, the one area where they didn’t really lose was blocking. For the first time in as long as I can remember, blocking was the least of their problems. Getting off blocks, however, is a different story altogether.

Disengage

Although there were times when they lost gap integrity, the run defense’s real problem was not getting off of blocks. This has been a frequent issue over the past few years which unfortunately remains.

Tackling

Then there are the missed tackles that led to big gains. Dax Hill struggled to make tackles on the edge, and it really hurt them. When lined up out wide in a true cornerback position, Hill actually looked pretty good, but he struggled in the box.

Hill wasn’t even close to the only one who had an issue with tackling this weekend. While NFL rules make it hard to practice tackling, those rules are the same for every team. This shouldn’t be something the Bengals have to overcome every September.

Catching

While the Bengals completed 21 of 29 pass attempts, two balls falling to the ground cost them 10 points and, in fact, the game.

Geno Stone’s would-be end zone interception led to a field goal for the Patriots, and Mike Gesicki failed to finish the touchdown catch on a drive, and the Bengals came away with nothing.

Turnovers

The Bengals lost the turnover game 2-0 on the hands of Tanner Hudson’s “What in God’s name was that?” and Charlie Jones’s fumbled punt return. Hudson’s took points off the board when he probably could have fallen forward and scored. Jones gave the Patriots the ball in scoring position, which led to a field goal.