Team Report
as of Tuesday, October 02, 2007 12:40 PM.
(Sports Network) - This is why you can't afford to lose to the Browns.
Why you can't let a late lead slip away against the Seahawks.
There are only a few elite teams in the NFL, and those outfits, including the New England Patriots, are going to make most of their opponents look silly in 2007. That's what the Pats did to the Bengals on Monday night, keeping Marvin Lewis' squad at arm's length throughout a 34-13 triumph that dropped Cincinnati to 1-3 heading into the bye week and alone in last place in the AFC North.
The Bengals could have afforded this loss had their previous two games gone according to plan. Instead, a club that many had pegged for a playoff appearance was hammered further underground, and will now likely need something close to a 9-3 record in the final three-quarters of the season to even sniff the Wild Card.
Does this team look capable of going 9-3 to you?
The injury situation has gone from the ridiculous to the sublime. The team has been without linebacker Rashad Jeanty (lower leg) for the entire season to date, and fellow LBs Ahmad Brooks (groin) and Caleb Miller (back) were also inactive on Monday, as was running back Rudi Johnson (hamstring). By the end of the first half, two more linebackers - Lemar Marshall (Achilles) and Landon Johnson (eye) - were knocked out for the night. Marshall, the former Redskin, is out for the season with his Achilles tear.
Then, there is the fact that these players don't seem to like each other a heck of a lot.
The three most reliable members of the Bengals roster - quarterback Carson Palmer and his two wideouts, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh - all participated in heated sideline exchanges Monday.
Late in the first half, a Palmer throw intended for Johnson was intercepted by New England cornerback Asante Samuel, a miscue that led to some strong words between quarterback and receiver, who were still jawing at each other walking off the field.
Then in the third quarter, after Cincinnati failed on a third-down try, it was Houshmandzadeh's turn to verbally spar with his quarterback.
According to the Associated Press, Lewis had some choice words of his own for his team after the game, in a postgame speech that was audible to several media members waiting outside the locker room.
"If you don't want to be on this team, please don't show up," Lewis told his charges. "You don't call the offense, you don't call the plays. You just play. Nowhere in the NFL do guys act like this. We've got to figure this out."
Lewis expanded on that sentiment in the postgame press conference, with words that sounded like they were pointed directly at one Ocho Cinco.
"This is a game of greed, but you have to play it within the scope of what you are asked to do," said Lewis. "It's not all about you every play and we have to understand that."
In the 12 days that precede their next game, in Kansas City on October 14th, expect the Bengals to publicly put Monday's unpleasantness behind them. Expect Palmer and his receivers to profess their love for one another, and as the team gets healthier, look for Cincinnati to be bound and determined to salvage its season.
But while acknowledging that the Bengals, who actually have a fairly light schedule the rest of the way (the writer counts at least eight games that Cincinnati would be favored in if they were played this week), have the talent to pull out of this morass, you must also ask yourself another question.
The next time this team loses, will it fracture yet again?
THE RECEIVING END
Despite his exchange with Palmer, Houshmandzadeh actually had a fine statistical evening, catching 10 balls for 100 yards and scoring the team's only touchdown of the night. Houshmandzadeh, who has at least eight receptions in each of his first four games, now has an NFL-best 39 catches on the year, and remains on pace to break the all-time single-season mark for receptions.
Houshmandzadeh is on target for 156 receptions, which would break the record of 143 set by the Colts' Marvin Harrison in 2002.
Johnson, who led the league in receiving yards as the week began, fell off the NFL-leading pace on a night when he was limited to three catches for 53 yards. Johnson was outplayed by the Patriots' Randy Moss, who caught nine passes for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Moss is now the NFL leader in receiving yards with 505.
IT'S RANK
The only way for Cincinnati to make inroads in re-joining the playoff race is to find a way to shore up a defense that has been among the worst units in every statistical area through four weeks.
The Bengals are 31st in NFL scoring defense (32.2 points per game), ahead of only New Orleans in that category, and are 30th in total defense (403 yards per game), better than only Cleveland and Buffalo.
The passing defense is a slightly more respectable 26th (251 yards per game), but the 11 touchdown passes the team has surrendered are second-worst in the league ahead of only Cleveland's 12 (including six by Palmer in Week 2). The team's four sacks are tied for 27th in the NFL.
Perhaps worst of all has been the rushing defense, which is 28th overall and dead last in yards allowed per ground attempt (5.3).
The Patriots' running backs and receivers combined for 178 rushing yards on 30 combine carries (5.9 yards per attempt) on Monday night.
NEXT UP: GOOD BYE?
Cincinnati gets a much-needed week of rest in Week 5, following which the team will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to meet the Chiefs. The Bengals were 23-10 winners in 2006 in a Week 1 game at Arrowhead best remembered for the severe concussion suffered by then-Kansas City quarterback Trent Green following a hit from end Robert Geathers.
The Bengals are 4-14 all-time following the bye week, tied for the most post- open date defeats along with the New York Giants.
Cincinnati last won after a bye week in 2003, when they took down the Ravens, and are 1-3 after a week off under Marvin Lewis.