For the first time this season, the Cincinnati Bengals were faced with something they hadn’t experienced all year, and considering how bizarre this season has already been, that should be impossible.
What haven’t we seen? There have been goal line stands and goal line fumbles, botched field goals and shoe malfunctions. We’ve seen plenty of questionable calls, from the referees to the coaching staff to the front office. And big plays – we’ve seen plenty of big plays, and by both sides.
But today, for the first time all season, the Bengals were outclassed by a superior opponent. The Bengals were blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles. This one wasn’t a fluke. The Bengals weren’t screwed by a bad call or because of injuries. They just couldn’t play with Philly. This was a talent disparity, and the Bengals were on the wrong side of it. They’re now 0 - 4 home to start their year for the first time since 2019, and like that 2019 Bengals team, the 2024 version is beginning to look like they're just not on the rest of the league’s level.
And yet, the Bengals could not have gotten off to a better start in this contest. They opened up the game with a seventeen-play, 70-yard drive that took a NFL season-high 10:04 off the clock. Keeping the high-powered Eagles offense off the field was a priority for the Bengals, and they made a strong statement early. But it was fool’s gold.
Despite the impressive drive, the Bengals couldn’t run the ball, and it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Five carries by Zack Moss and Chase Brown gained a grand total of ten yards combined. Frankly, that’s how much of the game went. The Bengals tried in vain to force the run, and then frantically looked to Joe Burrow to bail the offense out on third and long. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.
The Eagles offense didn’t have that problem. They pretty much did whatever they wanted against the Bengals defense. They finished with a staggering 39 rushing attempts for 161 yards. Jalen Hurts was an efficient 16/20 for 236 and found the endzone himself for two rushing touchdowns. Their famed Tush Push was all but automatic.
Maybe it was foolish to expect the Bengals to stifle an Eagles offense that features playmakers like Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith, but the Bengals had opportunities to win. The Eagles were down two starting offensive lineman in this game – although you wouldn’t have known it given how much time Hurts had in the pocket, and how much space the Eagles had to work with in the run game. The Bengals needed their d-line to come through, and they didn’t come close.
Most unforgivable of all, though, was Zac Taylor’s reprehensible play calling late in the third quarter. Following a 45-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to Smith on the previous drive, the Bengals were down 24 - 17 and faced a potential three and out after a Brown run only managed to get a yard on second and two. To get that last yard, the Bengals trotted out an extra lineman. They were going to power their way for this first down.
Only someone forgot to account for Eagles outside linebacker Brandon Graham, and after Graham sliced his way through the offensive line and brought down Moss for no gain, it was fourth down. Another Bengals run went nowhere. The Bengals were starting to get a bit itchy. They panicked, and they decided to go for it.
You can forgive them for being aggressive in this situation. They just watched the Eagles throw the ball right over their heads on the previous drive, and given how ceaselessly the Eagles were pounding the run, at some point the dam was probably going to break on defense. The Bengals had to keep up the offensive pressure, and they couldn’t let the Eagles drain out the clock.
But what’s simply unacceptable is the pathetic, uninspired play that the Bengals chose to go with in this massive, game-altering situation. At the time, the Eagles were down their top corner Darius Slay, but instead of testing the Eagles young secondary, the Bengals opted for a telegraphed, one-option throw to Ja’Marr Chase behind the line of scrimmage. Eagles rookie corner Cooper DeJean was not fooled. As for the Bengals coaching staff though…well, foolish is putting it mildly.
CBS announcer Charles Davis called it desperate. It was. The Bengals reek of desperation. They were desperate to avoid going 0 - 4 at home to start the season, but as the Eagles started to impose their will physically on the Bengals in the second half, that desperation began to turn into fear.
A second and short…two straight runs that get nothing…and then a cowardly pass behind the line of scrimmage on a have-to-have-it fourth down against a reeling secondary. Unforgivable.
Had Taylor and the coaches been watching Burrow today or not? Had they forgotten the Houdini scrambles and the surgical throws? Had they noticed that the passing offense wasn’t missing the injured Tee Higgins, and that Chase and the tight ends were picking up the slack? Did they somehow miss that Slay was on the sideline?
There’s been a lot made of Taylor’s frustrating knack for taking the ball out of Joe Burrow’s hands in critical situations, and that peculiar trait reared its disgusting head once again. The run game had done nothing all day. And yet, the Bengals insisted – twice. The Eagles insisted right back – twice. Then, the Bengals threw a pass which could basically be considered an extension of the run game. The Eagles continued insisting.
The Eagles added a field goal following the turnover on downs, taking a ten point lead with precious little time remaining. The Bengals had to make a play, and in what can only be described as a desperate attempt to atone for the previous mistake on fourth down, Taylor called a deep shot on the next drive to Chase to test Eagles backup corner Isaiah Rodgers. Burrow’s pass was tipped by Rodgers into the waiting arms of his teammate C.J Gardner-Johnson, The game was all but sealed.
It’s obvious what happened. Taylor recognized his mistake and fourth down by not giving Burrow multiple options to make a play, and then tried to make up for it by forcing a deep shot against a backup. It backfired – badly.
The Bengals were deflated. The Eagles, meanwhile, marched right down the field for a touchdown. The Bengals were broken.
There have been a lot of bad losses this season, but this one stands out particularly. The Bengals didn’t have a prayer in this one, and the coaching staff coached like they knew it. The Eagles are better. Much better. If it wasn’t clear already, it should be now: the Bengals are not a postseason contender. And it’s likely they never were.
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