The Bengals' Loss In Baltimore Reinforced A Brutal Reality, But Also Provided A Major Silver Lining

Dylan Buell. Getty Images.

Yeah Justin Tucker is a weird crooning kicking automaton we know but probably somehow more likable than Russell Wilson, in spite of my fandom allegiances.

Why fuck around? Let's cut to the chase of what that headline states. Main statement I want to make before all that: The 2021 Bengals felt proactive. This year's team feels reactive. Like the opponent dictates the terms of the game far too often. Annoying as hell. Anywho, on with it…

Brutal reality: Zac Taylor is a straight-up below-average play-caller

Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan is at least somewhat responsible for game-planning. Bottom line: Taylor is in charge of the play sheet. It's clear which shot-caller on which side of the ball is the stud on this coaching staff, and it's Lou Anarumo by a cataclysmic landslide. This dude was throwing all kinds of exotic defensive alignments at Lamar Jackson and had him shook. Wasn't his fault the Bengals couldn't pull through.

Three straight 3-and-outs in the first half is on Zac Taylor. One first down on the first play from scrimmage on the opening four possessions. That ain't good enough. It was as if Taylor was sticking to his first 15, Burrow refused to check out of it for the most part, and it was live or die by that. Weird vibes. Shout out Kenjac for the spot-on analysizing here.

My buddy texted me, "Sometimes Joe Cool is too cool." I agree with that to an extent. Maybe a touch too diplomatic with Taylor, yet I'm gonna choose to be positive about all this. Yeah, I'd like to see Joe Burrow get in somebody's face every now and then and demand better. Like La'el Collins, for instance, in pass protection. Dude is a turnstile far more frequently than he should be given his talent level. I had high hopes he'd be a big upgrade at right tackle. Not so much. 

Beyond the fiery leadership aspect when it comes to galvanizing the troops, I'd love to see Burrow audible more at the line of scrimmage. I just feel like so many of the calls are pedestrian, unimaginative and when they are creative, such "sophisticated" play designs come at the most inopportune times. Such as when Tyler Boyd tried his hand at the Philly Special deep in Ravens territory, only to be fucking SACKED.

That set up the ill-fated, weird shovel pass play on 4th and goal that kept the score stuck on 13-10 Baltimore.

Gotta say, I concurred with Bill Simmons on this one:

This pretty much cost the Bengals the game. Granted, Lamar missed multiple, fairly-to-wide-open downfield touchdown throws on the night. Still, you give Justin Tucker a chance to bury you late, you get fucking buried. That's just what happens.

You could say, "Oh but Zac helped us drive down the field for that late go-ahead TD!" I'd counter and say Joey B. was more or less running the show at that point. But it shouldn't have come to that. Defense played plenty well enough to win. Zac Taylor may be a solid head coach. A brainiac play-caller he is not.

Silver lining: Joe Mixon is awake

What is encouraging out of this prime-time defeat that could've put the Bengals atop the AFC North but didn't is that the running game finally got going. It wasn't anything Taylor did as a play-caller. It was simply Joe Mixon being decisive, the offensive line getting a better push at the point of attack, and everyone being on the same page. The game circumstances dictated that the Bengals air it out more. I'm still encouraged that Mixon was able to find some room to run.  

You even get competent running from Mixon, the offense changes completely. He had 14 carries for 78 yards for an average of 5.6 per tote. Understand that Mixon entered last nightI guess thats better than a walk off at least with the second-most carries in the NFL (82) and a 2.7 YPC clip. Like, how can you even be that inefficient?

Bonus silver lining: Hayden Hurst's Superman stretch

This was badass, as was the fact that Hurst stepped up for six catches and a team-high 53 yards:

Here's the real kicker, and I don't mean our beloved Evan McPherson 

The passing attack would've been better if Tee Higgins were healthy. He wasn't. This guy is a legit WR1 on, I'd say, at least 10 teams in the NFL. Maybe more. STUD of studs. It's just that Cincinnati happens to have Ja'Marr Chase and he overshadows Tee. An ankle injury kept Higgins sidelined, to the point the Bengals had to count on, um, Michael Thomas to make actual receptions? Not ideal. So with Tee dinged up, this team was still able to produce decently well in spite of the pedestrian game plan from Taylor.

It just goes to show why Higgins deserves a big payday coming up here. Boyd only has so many years left, having already signed his second contract. Time for Mike Brown to come up with some scratch for Higgins…and that's not even to mention the big deals on the horizon for Burrow and Chase.

Final thoughts

I'm going with these bold subheadings for some reason. It's a vibe. Ugh, going 2-3 on the heels of a Super Bowl run doesn't feel great. All three of those losses were highly winnable games. Cincinnati's defense is legit. Championship-caliber. Hopefully with Mixon finding some space last night and Burrow continuing to evolve — that one INT he had was AWFUL — it'll lead to some of these growing pains being worked out and the Bengals making a strong second-half push. 

Oh yeah, and fuck the sharps. Cincy covered the +3.5 spread. HA. Let's get them Ravens back in Cincy next time in that regular-season finale!

Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok