The Cincinnati Bengals have now lost seven straight to start the Zac Taylor era.
One could argue the schedule hasn’t been too tough, either. Sure, the Bengals lost to undefeated San Francisco 41-17. But they also lost to a rookie-led Arizona team, 26-23. They lost to a Big Ben-less Pittsburgh team, 27-3.
And now they’ve lost to the Gardner Minshew-led Jaguars, 27-17, while Andy Dalton threw three interceptions, including a pick-six, the offense ran for 33 yards on a 1.7 average and the defense was left hopeless on the field for more than 38 minutes.
So the question is starting to seem fair — is there a winnable game on the schedule?
For review:
- Week 8: vs. Rams (London)
- Week 10: vs. Baltimore
- Week 11: at Oakland
- Week 12: vs. Pittsburgh
- Week 13: vs. New York Jets
- Week 14: at Cleveland
- Week 15: vs. New England
- Week 16: at Miami
- Week 17: vs. Cleveland
The correct answer is no, there isn’t one matchup that looks like a definitive, absolute win. Oakland is better than expected. The Jets are healthy. Cleveland is worse than expected but still dangerous. And Miami, while winless, has come close to wins in each of the last two weeks.
What is there to say about the Bengals at this point? The quarterback situation can’t improve. A.J. Green is now out until at least through the Week 9 bye. Where logic has said sheer luck could help the Bengals at least back into one victory, it simply hasn’t happened yet.
Maybe it is too early to talk about 0-16 in such harsh terms. The team is still fighting. Players are stilling gunning for it. But the continued toll of injuries, no influx of talent via the front office and simple thinking about the future will continue to play an increasing role as the holidays approach.
