Bengals no longer undefeated after terrible performance in Texans loss
This is why it’s so hard to go deep into a season with an undefeated record. It’s why we need to appreciate what the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots have done.
There are no easy games in the NFL. There are no McNeese States on the schedule. If you’re off in the NFL, you’re going to lose. There’s not that big of a gap between the best teams in the NFL and the worst ones to win when you play poorly. And it’s hard to have your best game 16 times in a row.
The Cincinnati Bengals are no longer undefeated. They came in 8-0, as 10-point favorites to the 3-5 Houston Texans, and lost 10-6 in an ugly game. They looked terrible, though the Texans’ defense had plenty to do with that. It’s not easy to play poorly and win in the NFL, and the Bengals didn’t. The Panthers and Patriots are the remaining undefeated teams in the NFL.
Of course, this being the Bengals, Monday’s performance will set off a ton of alarms.
We’ve seen Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton play great all season, and he was not good on Monday night. He was 22-of-38 for 197 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. The Bengals didn’t score in the second half. He looked indecisive, though he was not helped out by his receivers, who had a ton of drops. Even in the end, when Dalton hit A.J. Green for a first down with 40 seconds left on fourth down, Green fumbled it away. Not that anyone thought the Bengals were going to go 16-0, but that was the end of their perfect season.
Dalton has played well before in his career, and he has also had some slumps and some terrible peformances in big games. For everyone who has been waiting for the Bengals and Dalton to show signs of a collapse, this is your moment.
“Our goal was to come in here and make the ‘Red Rifle’ look like a Red Ryder BB gun, and I think we did that,” Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said on ESPN, referring to Dalton by his nickname and eliciting a “Wow!” from sideline reporter Lisa Salters. “He’s a great player and they have a great team. But tonight our coaches put together a great game plan.”
The Bengals are still a good team, and in control of the AFC North. They weren’t going to run the table this year anyway. It just goes to show how tough it is to remain undefeated in the NFL. It goes to show how special it is that we still have two undefeated teams remaining.
More NFL: Week 11 Power Rankings
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
