Disappearing Acts

The Bengals were another one of those teams that tried to choke an early and strong lead. At its peak, Cincy’s lead was 21-3. The final score was 33-27. They almost blew a 2.5 score lead. Joe Burrow looked impressive, finishing the game with 254 yards passing, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He also hit 9 different receivers which is very impressive. The Bengals are not one dimensional on offense. It’s on defense that is concerning. I don’t care they signed Dexter Lawrence, the guy didn’t record a tackle all game and wasn’t even around in meaningful moments. Sure, they recovered 4 fumbles, but once again, that doesn’t really matter if you’re blowing leads in the 3^rd and 4^th quarter. After the three fumbles early, the Bengals proceeded to let the Bucs score on every drive for the rest of the game. Outside of one, in which Bucky Irving fumbled. If the Bengals drop 50, they may win, but how much of a buffer do you need for your defense to not blow a game?

         C.J Stroud. You’re making it hard to defend you. And while I didn’t really defend you last week, I will once again not be defending you this week. I will hand it to the Texans offense, as they battled to keep the game against Buffalo to one score almost the entirety of the game. Credit to their great defense as well. But when it matters most, when you need him for a clutch play, C.J Stroud disappears. With 1:36 left in the 4^th quarter, the Texans methodically put together a drive consisting of 10 plays and 47 yards. And what does Stroud do on the last 3 plays of the drive? Sack, incompletion, strip sack. Inexcusable. I’d be happier if he chucked it up into double coverage in the endzone. At least it would’ve been a shot. But nope. Your defense keeps you in it, your offense battles to stay close, and the captain of your team falls apart. I will be taking the Texans because they can play offense and defense, unlike the Bengals. But I’m not happy about it.