On Sunday afternoon, Cincinnati fans were deeply emotional about the Chiefs' decision to roll over and bench all of their notable players, thereby sending the Broncos into the playoffs. This took the Bengals out of the conversation, and of course Kansas City was the target of the blame.
For some reason, a large portion of Bengals fans thought the Chiefs should have played legitimate, quality football against the Broncos in the most pointless game of the season. Kansas City had locked in the No. 1 seed in the AFC, so they rested their starters like the Eagles, Bills, Rams, Commanders and other teams. texans did. But this all-too-common practice of resting starters in Week 18 has turned into a forced narrative that the Chiefs are “afraid” of Cincinnati and “don't want to see Joe Burrow” in the playoffs.
It's strange, soccer fans tend to imagine everything revolving around their team, and this is no different.
There's only one organization that Bengals fans can blame for taking an early vacation: the Bengals. Cincinnati's failure to make the playoffs is due to years of complex issues, myriad defensive issues, and poor play in key areas this season. If he needs help from the Chiefs to play, that's to be expected.
The worst part of all of this is how badly the organization let Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase down. Both players gave us one of the most phenomenal seasons as a QB and WR, and it was completely wasted. In any other situation, Burrow would definitely be an MVP candidate with 4,918 yards, 43 TDs, and just 9 INTs. Rather, it will be lost in history, or simply remembered as a great season that passed by without much happening.
So what cost Cincinnati the chance to continue playing? It boils down to four specific factors.
Part 1: Treat Week 1 like preseason.
No coach is better at preparing a team for the start of the regular season than Zac Taylor. In his six seasons as head coach, the Bengals' record in September was a shockingly poor 7-14-1. Over the past three seasons, the team has actually done well, but 35% of the team's losses occurred in the opening month of the season.
2024 was particularly bad. The Bengals sleepwalked into the regular season, losing 16-10 to the desperate Patriots. If they win this game, they will advance to the playoffs. Then, in Week 2, the team lost to the Chiefs by one point due to a missed field goal. If they win that game, they can advance to the playoffs. Week 3, we lost again. This time I lost to the commander. You can see the pattern here.
The Bengals shot themselves in the foot before the season started by not being ready to play football.
No. 2: Lou Anarumo's defense
There are two parts to this problem. First, the Bengals haven't done anything to invest in and improve their defense, which is also a front office issue, but when it comes to coaching, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has not done anything to invest in and improve their defense. It's also clear that they don't have it. Most are substandard talent.
This season, the Bengals offense averaged 27.8 points per game, one of the highest in the entire NFL. This season, they allowed more than 30 points in six games and lost all of them. It was a simple numbers game, with Cincinnati ranking 27th in the NFL in points allowed. Nothing can be stopped, so asking Burrow to bail out this team every game is not a sustainable way to run a football team.
The NFL averaged 22.5 points per game this year. The Bengals only held opponents below league average six times.
No. 3: This is easy schedule
Perhaps the biggest blame for the Bengals' failure in 2024 is how easy their non-division schedule was. Cincinnati's strength of schedule this season was -1.0. Only four teams in the entire league (Eagles, Commanders, dolphinthe Patriots) had an easier schedule than the Bengals, but they squandered it.
Despite having such an easy season, the team only managed a +38 point differential for the entire season. This goes back to issue 2.
Part 4: Drafting failure
While the early Zac Taylor era deserves credit for a great draft, the last two years have been a mess. Let's take a look at their top six picks and how they've performed over the past two seasons.
- Myles Murphy (28th in 2023): Reserve DE with a PFF rating of 56.5 this season.
- DJ Turner (2023 No. 60): Despite injuries this season, his PFF ranking was just above average at 67.8.
- Jordan Battle (No. 95, 2023): Starting safety, but one of the worst in the league with a PFF rating of 53.1, good for 137th out of 169 safety ratings.
- Amarius Mims (28th in 2024): Backup right tackle with a PFF rating of 57.8 this season.
- Kris Jenkins (49th, 2024): Rotational DT with a PFF rating of 45.4 this season, one of the worst in the NFL among DTs.
- Jermaine Burton (2024 No. 80): Finished the season with 107 receiving yards. Decent returnee, but nothing special.
If you can't find a draft like this, Any You have a meaningful talent, but you have a problem. Not finding a star is one thing, but the Bengals didn't even have a decent record. starter. Not only did they scout the wrong players, they picked bad players; better Players follow them.
Terrible failure by the front office.
I hope there is a silver lining to all of this…
It's sad to root for someone who loses their job, but in the case of the Bengals, they have to be smart to move things forward. The 2024 season should be a wake-up call to the organization that the status quo isn't working, and right now the team is wasting Joe Burrow's best years.
Not making the playoffs might be the best thing for the Bengals' future.
Let's take a look at the rest of the NFL's winners and losers for Week 18.
Winner: Detroit Lions
No team played better than the Lions and Vikings in Week 18, with an NFC bye and the No. 1 seed at stake. This was critical for Detroit, giving them a week to stay healthy before their Super Bowl challenge begins.
There's no doubt the Lions need to get some players back if possible, but it's pretty impressive how easily they dispatched the Vikings. This shows that this team can beat the best teams in the NFL even in weakened form, which is very promising now that they're in the playoffs.
Offensively, this team overcame a Jared Goff interception to score 41 points, but defensively they made the Vikings' formidable offense look like kittens. Any rumors of Detroit's demise were greatly exaggerated.
Losers: Falcons and Jets experiment
The biggest disappointment in the NFL this season has come from Atlanta and New York, who believed their aging quarterbacks could get them through the gauntlet and earn a Super Bowl berth like the Rams and Rams. There is no room for doubt. buccaneers.
Instead, they are currently rebuilding and a new quarterback is on the horizon, but at least the Falcons have a quarterback on hand as Michael Penix Jr. has shown some promise. .
The Jets, on the other hand, are in complete disarray. This team has regressed in every way, fired a coach through no fault of their own, and built a team specifically to put Aaron Rodgers on the field. Pathetic.
Winner: Bryce Young
The Panthers' second-year quarterback had the best game of his career Sunday, throwing for 251 yards and five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) without turning the ball over.
Young has now thrown a touchdown pass in 10 consecutive games, making this one of the rare occasions where a win in Week 18 is worth the two lost draft spots. There is a lot to be said for building confidence and making winning a habit. That's what Carolina wants here.
Panthers fans have a lot to look forward to in the 2025 offseason and beyond. This team has finally turned a corner and is on the rise.
