Game tippers.
These were the defining aspects of the game that determined how it ended more than any other for the Cincinnati Bengals in their 38-33 loss to the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football.
That Drive
The Bengals came out of the gate swinging and took an early 7-0 lead. Their next drive looked promising. The first seven plays took them 48 yards down to the Washington 29, but then Tee Higgins may or may not have fumbled the ball. A quick pass to Chase Brown prevented a replay but took them back a yard.
Then, as time was ticking down in the 1st quarter, the Bengals motioned to empty quads with four receivers on one side of the formation. An alarm went off in my head that a quick screen was coming.
Unfortunately, those bells were ringing for the Commanders as well. Instantly upon the ball’s snap, cornerback Mike Sainristil darted inside and pasted Andrei Iosivas, and the play was dead in the water. An incompletion on third and long, and the drive was done.
Adding insult to injury, Evan MacPherson missed the subsequent 48-yard field goal.
For the rest of the game, the Bengals were trying to play catchup.
4th Down
The Bengals (6-10) and Commanders (5-9) were pretty similar on 3rd downs. What made a big difference was the Commanders going 3/3 on 4th down. The Bengals just needed to make a stop on one of those three plays, and the result of the game may have been different,
Red Zone
The Bengals were 2-4 in the red zone, compared to the Commanders being 3/3. The Bengals defense has always been bend-but-don’t-break. Here, they broke every time. Their offense had a couple of miscues, and it cost them eight points.
At the end of the day, Washington just made the play in the biggest moments of the game, and the Bengals didn’t. Simple as that.
