The Cincinnati Bengals’ season is all but over.
Their last chance to keep their postseason hopes alive until Joe Burrow can return was an unmitigated disaster, with Cincinnati losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers by 22 points.
As always, the Bengals can try to learn from their mistakes. (At this point, they must have multiple Ph.D.s in losing.)
Here’s what we learned:
Joe Flacco is not healthy
Don’t let the veteran’s 470-yard performance against the Chicago Bears a week after an AC joint injury fool you.
He is hurting.
Since he arrived in Cincinnati, Flacco has been a downfield machine. But that was not the case against Pittsburgh.
The pain in his shoulder is likely to blame for a less aggressive passing attack and throws with less zip than you expect from the big-armed QB.
Zac Taylor has 100% lost control of this team
After Jake Browning missed Ja’Marr Chase badly in a Monday night game vs. the Denver Broncos, the star WR had some words for his coach on the sideline.
In the postgame press conference, Taylor praised Chase for his desire to win instead of attempting to diffuse the situation in front of the media. That is somewhat different from how he handled Chase Brown criticizing the defense, largely because of the cache that the receiver has.
But now it seems that Taylor simply doesn’t have his team disciplined, and that includes Chase.
Video evidence suggests that Chase spit on Jalen Ramsey, which would be a shocking move from a level-headed player who takes football very seriously.
This came just a couple weeks after some defensive players reportedly laughed off interviews following a defensive collapse against the Chicago Bears and said “catch you on Monday.”
The image of these current Bengals is one of a team that doesn’t have any sort of leadership in Burrow’s absence.
Taylor’s strength used to be his ability to unite his players. That appears to be gone now.
Myles Murphy may not be a bust
There could be a silver lining for the defense.
Myles Murphy, who hasn’t really flashed potential since being drafted in round one a couple years ago, had his best game yet as a Bengal, notching four pressures, a sack, and six stops.
Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.
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