Cincy Jungle
After the 2024 season was over, I said that 50 years from now, we’ll look back and realize how freakish the Cincinnati Bengals’ season was that year. I highly doubt any team will ever have a quarterback that puts up Joe Burrow’s numbers, a wide receiver that wins the Triple Crown, and a defensive end that leads the regular seasons in sacks and still miss the playoffs.
I can now say the same thing about the Bengals’ Week-9 loss to the Bears. I don’t think we will ever see a team, down by 14, score 15 points in less than a minute while recovering an onside kick, and then still lose in the final seconds.
This isn’t about the fact that the Bengals missed the playoffs in 2024, partially because their defense was terrible, and then in 2025, it’s worse.
I mean, it is, but it isn’t.
What this is about is the Bengals’ response to two of the ugliest losses any franchise could possibly suffer in back-to-back weeks.
Actually, it’s about their lack of response.
In the last two weeks, the Bengals’ offense, with 40-year-old Joe Flacco under center, has put up 80 points. In both of those games, the Bengals led their opponent in the fourth quarter, and in both games, the team’s defense allowed the Jets and then the Bears to retake the lead and win in the final moments.
Instead of going into the bye week with a 5-4 or even 4-5 record, they go into it with a 3-6 record and a 2% chance to make it to the playoffs.
And if Joe Burrow were healthy? They’re probably 6-3, but it’s painfully obvious they aren’t contenders, and they may not be a playoff team.
So, at worst, we suffer through loss after loss, and the Bengals land themselves a top-10 draft pick. At best, they’re exactly who they were last year.
Either way, nothing will change.
How do I know that?
Because nothing changed on Monday morning after the loss to the Bears. At a MINIMUM, Al Golden needed to be fired. Something needed to be done so Mike Brown could send a message to every single coach, player, and, most importantly, fan that he sees the product on the field, he knows it’s not good enough, and he’s going to do something about it.
What we got after these two losses instead was nothing.
When running back Chase Brown expressed frustration at being a part of an offense that scored 80 points by saying the Bengals’ defense needs to “finish the f*cking game,” head coach Zac Taylor decided to chastise his running back instead of, you know, agreeing with him.
So, to be clear, the message from the front office, the fake general manager, the head coach, and his staff is as follows:
There’s nothing to see here.
Any other team loads up its entire coaching staff in a rocket ship and fires it directly into the sun.
The Bengals aren’t any other team....
