Cincinnati Bungles Another One

I'm not a big fan of the Cincinnati Bengals but I can't help but feel bad for (most of*) their fans this morning. After overcoming a 15-0 deficit against the Steelers last night, the Bengals were poised to finally get the monkey off their back and win a first-round playoff game.

Holding tight to a 1-point lead, Cincinnati all but sealed the deal when they intercepted Ben Rothlesberger's pass with under two minutes left in the game. Already deep in Pittsburgh territory, all the Bengals had to do was run a couple of plays and get first down and the game was over. On the first run from scrimmage, Cincinnati's Jeremy Hill fumbled the ball. And, of course, Pittsburgh recovered. This was bad, but Pittsburgh still had a long way to go to get into field goal range.

Rothelesberger quickly marched the Steelers towards mid-field. Let me just say this....I am certainly no fan of Ben Rothlesberger, But no one can deny that this guy is tough as nails. After getting slammed on his shoulder earlier in the quarter, it was obvious that his ability to throw the long ball was impaired. But somehow, he hung in there, and improvised a way to shorten the field.

However, time was running out and there was still a fair amount field to go. Rothlesberger threw a short pass to his go-to receiver, Antonio Brown, but overthrew him. This would have normally put Pittsburgh in dire straits. However, they were playing the Bengals and you knew something had to happen. On the play, Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict, laid a viscous hit on Brown's head. The yellow flags were flying before Brown even hit the ground. This 15-yard personal foul gave Pittsburgh and automatic first-down but more importantly, put them in range for a Chris Boswell field goal attempt.

But we're not done yet.....

The Bengals weren't satisfied with giving Boswell an attempt. They wanted to ensure that he was close enough to make the field goal. So, enter Adam "Pacman" Jones. Jones was played like fiddle by Pittsburgh coach, Joey Porter. After the hit on Brown, there were skirmishes on the field. As Porter antagonized the Bengals defense, Jones appeared to move toward him. But in the process, he touched one of the refs which drew another 15-yard penalty.

So, without making an offensive play, Pittsburgh was handed 30 yards by the undisciplined Cincinnati defense. This mental breakdown led to a game-winning field goal by Boswell. Cincinnati, as many predicted, went on to lose yet another first round game.

Bengals Head Coach, Marvin Lewis, will certainly be on the hot seat after this, His failure to win in the playoffs is one thing, But he is going to take a lot of heat for not roping his guys in when the game was all but over. I like Lewis but I think his days in Cincinnati may be numbered.

As the rain poured on both teams during the course of last night's game, the black cloud seemed to once again, hang primarily over the Bengals. A tough loss that will surely leave a bitter taste in the mouths of their fans for months to come...

kw

* Although I can appreciate how tough it is to lose a game like this, there is absolutely no excuse for fans to throw things onto the field. We saw this frequently last night from some of the Cincinnati fans. In my opinion, anyone caught throwing things onto the field should be ejected and/or arrested. There's no excuse for it. The fans that did this last night showed about as much discipline as their team's defense. And how'd that work out for you?