Tag: Bengals bye week

Andrew Whitworth offers interesting comment on state of the Bengals

Andrew Whitworth feels like Bengals fans about the current team, to say the least.

It turns out that franchise legend Andrew Whitworth feels the same way about the Cincinnati Bengals as most fans.

The short of it? Defense improves…anything is possible.

The Bengals technically aren’t eliminated from playoff contention, but things look terrible at 4-7 despite five AFC opponents left on the schedule.

Whitworth, commenting under a stat-ranking analysis by The Atheltic’s Paul Dehner Jr., summed things up quite well: “Said this when we were there for a preseason game. Just need defense to be middle of the road. That’s it. And they a SB contender”

Apparently, it’s just not that easy. As the numbers show, the Bengals rank 26th in points per drive and 28th in EPA per play. They even rank 31st in red zone percentage. The unit coughs up 26.9 points per game on average, a bottom-five number.

The Bengals have a bye to attempt a fix, but also just lost another starting cornerback for the season. More and more, it’s starting to look like a season of major what if? questions.

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NFL insider isn’t counting Bengals out of playoff race just yet

One expert isn’t going to be the one to say the Bengals are done.

The Cincinnati Bengals might have to win out to make the playoffs now that the record sits at 4-7 during the bye week.

No easy task, to say the least — but some aren’t giving up.

When asked which team under .500 still has the best shot at the playoffs, ESPN’s Dan Graziano still took the Bengals:

I have to say the Bengals, even though I don’t think they can get there anymore. If things fall apart for some of the teams on the back end of the AFC race and Cincinnati runs the table to sneak in, it is going to be a formidable opponent because it has a championship-caliber offense. (And if the Bengals do run the table, I have to assume that means the defense is playing better).

If the Bengals could just find a way to field an even league-average defense during the bye week, making a playoff push would still be a slim possibility — assuming Joe Burrow can keep going at his MVPish level.

Out of the bye, the Bengals play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13, one of five AFC teams left on the schedule over their last six games.

With a little help in an AFC that has been all over the place, the Bengals could still make a run, but the inability to close out games against good teams looms large over the bye.

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Bengals’ bye week lot was almost empty except for…Joe Burrow’s car

Joe Burrow is putting in work during the Bengals bye week.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow isn’t the problem for the struggling team at the Week 12 bye — feel free to call that the understatement of the year.

Burrow would be the likely frontrunner for MVP if his team weren’t stuck in a 4-7 hole. And while the much-needed bye week likely means extra rest for players, it sounds like Burrow isn’t one of them, anyway.

When reporters pulled up a presser with Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, Burrow’s car was one of the only ones in the lot belonging to a player, according to Fox 19’s Jeremy Rauch: “Player parking lot was mostly empty when we showed up for Zac Taylor’s bye week presser today. Joe Burrow’s car was there.”

According to WLWT’s Charlie Clifford, Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said he spent most of the morning working with Burrow.

Spotlighting this isn’t meant to suggest that the rest of the Bengals roster should be in there putting in work on the only week off to fix this season. Players are human beings and need a break from the mental and physical side of their jobs, too.

But it is meant to spotlight Burrow’s passion for the game and desire to right the ship. If that isn’t infectious in the locker room and doesn’t spur better results, well, things are truly dire in Cincinnati, indeed.

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