Postgame Report: Bengals Lose to Patriots in ANOTHER Winnable Game

Postgame Report: Bengals Lose to Patriots in ANOTHER Winnable Game

The Flaco Magic has run out and the Bengals have lost four straight. Hi again everyone and welcome in to Cincinnati Bengals Talk. I’m James Arp of Bengals Talk.com where the Bengals lost to the Patriots here at Payor Stadium 26 to 20 here on Sunday. And look, this was a game that was really there for the taking. It was there was multiple times where the Bengals put themselves in position to win. Starting with the beginning of the game where they take a 10- nothing lead. First, the defense comes out, gets a stop after the Bengals defer and win win win the coin toss defer. And then the defense gives up a first down, then gets off the field. The offense goes downfield, kicks a field goal, and they have some momentum. And guess what the defense did? Responded by a three and out, forcing a threeandout. So now the Bengals get the ball back. Just over 5 minutes to go in the first quarter, up three nothing. And it’s like, man, are they are they going to be in position here to take a two-possession lead? And they were. And this is what I mentioned in the Flacco magic because there was multiple mistakes by Joe Flacco. Big mistakes, points on the field that were left on the field and not on the scoreboard. And well, it started on their second drive of the game. The Bengals had the ball third and five from their own or or from the Patriots 35 yard line. So that’s well within Evan McFersonson’s range as you know now. And he took a 10 yard sack and this wasn’t a sack where it’s a clean win and he had no choice and just had to hold it. No, this was one of those hikes the ball, drops back, looks, looks, looks, looks, looks looks, then sees more people, looks, looks, looks, looks, and then gets sacked. And, and when you have that type of play that knocks you out of field goal range where no one’s open, fine, throw it through. If Fleco’s got the arm, throw it through the uprights. He didn’t. He didn’t. Takes the sack. The Bengals hold it three nothing. But that’s when Drake May gave Gino Stone the gift of all gifts. I’ve been really critical of Gino Stone. Very critical. He played well today. Was second on the team with 13 tackles. Was aggressive. Played angry. I like that. I hope to continue to see that. I didn’t see Gino Stone in the locker room after the game. He did talk to reporters. I didn’t see him. I was in on Zack Taylor and Joe Flacco. By the time I got in there, he was gone. Keep playing that way, Gino Stone, because he played angry. And then he took advantage of the gift from Drake May. And it was a gift. It was a an overthrow intended for Hunter Henry right into Gino Stone’s arms. But here’s where he gets the credit. Obviously got to make the catch, but the 32- yard touchdown return was awesome. And so suddenly you look up and the Bengals have a turnover, which we talked about. They needed to force turnovers. Pick six points off turnovers and they’re up 10 nothing. And it just felt like, all right, well, this is the recipe. And they they wilted after that a bit. They give up multiple big plays to Hunter Henry including a touchdown in this end zone and it’s 10-7 and then Joe Flacco happens again the pick six where he’s he said it was the most basic play in the world and we already posted Joe Flacco drops back he’s looking for T check down to Taj and Marcus Jones read it boom took it 33 yards to the house gave New England the lead for good it was 14 to 10 at that point but the Bengals really they held their own they stayed in it and They gave themselves a chance and the defense is a big big reason why. And and that’s what I want to really highlight here. They gave up big plays. They couldn’t guard Hunter Henry. Hunter Henry finished with seven catches on 10 targets. And that includes the the one that was an interception where it just airma mailed by Drake May. But seven catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. And so couldn’t guard Hunter Henry, but this defense multiple times in the red zone stepped up, made plays. They had 10 plays and it was this end zone. 10 plays they had to guard inside the 11 yardd line on the 11 are in. Nine of those plays were in the 5 yardd line or in. And they stood up. They held their own. And guess what? They didn’t give up a touchdown. Those are the type of drives, those type of possessions that this defense desperately needed that is going to build some confidence and they deserve that. And it was a bunch of guys. Miles Murphy, McKinley Jackson making plays, getting penetration. Chris Jenkins made some plays. Gino Stone on the fourth down. It was a huge fourth down. It’s a run to Randre Stevenson. Stone off the edge. Boom. Tackle for loss. There you go. Like that. That’s what you want to see. Gino Stone was known as a playmaker in Baltimore when they signed him two years ago. And the thing I was impressed with is how aggressive he was tackling. He heard he heard the criticism and he should and he responded. And guess what? That’s how it needs to be. That’s how it should be. You should respond. You should play better. You should be more aggressive with even without the pick six. You should be more aggressive and attack and be mad that people are saying that about you. You should. And so I thought the defense overall did enough because like I said, the that following drive when it’s 10-7, Joe Flacco throws the pick six, it’s 14-10. And that’s when it kind of got away from the Bengals and it felt like, all right, well, this is going to be it. Well, it wasn’t. They gave up a field goal at 17-10 at one point and then they get in field goal range. They only get the They only had 30 seconds left in the second quarter. They get in field goal range and Evan McFersonson, this is when after already kicking at the 54 yard on the opening possession of the game, kicks a Bengals record 63 yard field goal. Evan Moneymack, Moneymack is back, man. I mean, just he came up. it was on that side and he came up and I’m like I’m like this dude’s going to make this and and he drilled it 63 yards. There was room to spare and uh certainly uh put the Bengals in in a really good position going into the half. 1713 and and that’s it. I mean you look at it and you say all right 1713. Well, what did the Patriots do in the second half? And yeah, they held the ball and and and were able to get a bunch of stuff, but it was the turnover on downs I mentioned. field goal, field goal, field goal, field goal, field goal, field goal. And that third field goal was uh or the second field goal, excuse me, was a a red zone field goal where they’re on the goal line and the Bengals stop him. Those are the type of that’s the type of effort you need. You need to be able to force a turnover. And if Joe Flacco hadn’t thrown a pick six, we’re having a different conversation now. We’re talking about this miracle win. That’s what this defense needs to be. They need to be opportunistic. They need to make big splash plays. Go stone interception. They need to be able to make tackles and aggress aggressively attack opposing ball carriers. And they did that. They held the Patriots to under four yards per carry. This wasn’t the Trayvon Henderson show. RA Andre Stevenson didn’t go off. I made jokes about that walking into the stadium. Multiple security guards made jokes with me. Hey, I think Trayvon Henderson’s going to go. That didn’t happen, right? That didn’t happen. And so this Bengals defense certainly took multiple steps forward today at at Por Stadium, but it wasn’t enough. And it wasn’t enough because you leave the the three points on the field on the second drive of the game. You have the pick six and then the offense just really couldn’t get into a rhythm. They they couldn’t I mean that was a big part of this game is this offense was searching and searching and searching. Chase Brown was the bright spot running for 100 plus yards this uh uh today and I think it was yeah he had a 21 yarder. So he had one explosive run but uh 19 carries for 107 including the one where they got the big red zone stop. He had a big run to give them some breathing room. And overall, they ran for 120 yards, outrushed the Patriots on 23 attempts, 5.2 a carry. Chase Brown averaged 5.6 a carry. You take that all day long. You do. The problem is is when you have, and I’m looking here at the the stats, 19 of 37, Joe Flacco, for 183, a touchdown, a pick, 63.2 overall quarterback rating. Leading receiver, Andre Yosvage, four catches, 61 yards. Mike Cassiki, four catches, 35 yards. And that’s really it. that it is. Now, I will say this, Mitch Tinsley, two catches, 23 yards. He was clutch. And there’s a lot to like about Mitch Mitch Tinsley. There is. By the way, this postgame report is brought to you by Sleeper. Check them out today. All of our videos presented by Sleeper. Check them out. Again, all you have to do is use promo code Bengals Talk and get up to a 100% deposit match on that first deposit with Sleeper. This team h just cannot put it together because if they had given this kind of effort on defense, the effort part, not the pick six, the effort, this kind of effort on defense against the Jets, they would have rode the Jets. They may beat the Bears. Uh they they would have had a real shot late in some of these games that have not gone their way. And so the Bengals Mitch Tinsley makes a awesome touchdown grab. Joe Flacco leaves for a second with his finger. Comes back in after one play, throws it to T. Higgins. T. Higgins gets concussed and was carded off the field. The good news is is he walked to the locker room under his own power after he was carded off the field. I have video of that. I posted that here on our YouTube channel and our social media channels. So, T. Higgins goes down, Andre Yosvos goes down. And who steps up but Mitch Tinsley. Mitch Tinsley makes a touchdown grab. Suddenly, it’s 23-20. The Bengals have a chance. Then they hold the Patriots to a field goal. 26-20. They have a chance. Touchdown. Goes and wins the game. Should have, could have, would have. Didn’t. Even though Mitch Tinsley on a a got to have it play, makes a a catch on the sideline to extend the drive. Huge conversion. It just it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough. And I know there’s going to be some that say, “Oh, well, Gaseiki was grabbed here or this play or that play.” This team, and it happens. I’ve covered teams like this. I’ve I followed the Bengals for a long time, long before I covered them. These type of seasons happen and it is a season thing and there’s going to be a lot of talk about, oh well, this should happen or that should happen or whatever. I it it is what it is right now. They are three and eight. I can’t doctor that up. I can’t fake that. What I can tell you is that this is why this is the the logic I had going into today with Joe Burrow. why I did that video where all of you called me crazy and all these things. And that’s fine. Maybe I am crazy. Maybe I’m in I am insane for wanting to play the franchise quarterback. But maybe, just maybe, they win with him today. And maybe we’re talking about a 4-7 team with a a road matchup in Baltimore and completing the the crazy fiveday stretch where you can go from three and seven to five and seven. That’s all out the door now. And I get it. I understand it. We’ll see if Joe Burrow plays this week. I think he will regardless of them being 3-8. And that’s what I tried to tell people. If he’s going to play on Thursday, you might as well play him when they’re 3-7. They didn’t. Uh I will say this, Joe Flacco does plan on being healthy, available, whatever you want to say. I don’t think the finger is going to keep him out. He said the shoulders feeling better. So part of it is tape might be out on Joe Flacco and Tate might be out on this Bengals offense that was maneuvering the way they were last month and earlier this month. That that does happen in the NFL. The bottom line is though, this team loses another one-sore game. This team loses another game at home. And this team had opportunities to beat a Patriots team that has won nine straight now. Has 10 wins on the year. The Patriots were one and two. Now they’re 10-2. They did not play well. The the game was there for the taking and the Patriots took it and and that’s in large part due to the Bengals self-inflicted mistakes here at Payor Stadium. We’re going to have you covered all week long. Make sure you check out all of our postgame coverage from Joe Flacco to Zack Taylor. A bunch of locker room coverage is coming your way as well. Reaction to this loss as the Bengals fall to 3 and8 on the season. Appreciate you watching. I appreciate you listening and until next time for Andrew Fox Miller. I’m James Rupine. Thank you so much for watching and listening to Cincinnati Bengals talk where the Bengals lose to the Patriots 26 to 20 here at Payor Stadium.

The Cincinnati Bengals dropped their fourth straight game, losing 26–20 to the Patriots in a matchup that was there for the taking. Cincinnati jumped out to a 10–0 lead thanks to a Geno Stone pick-six and a strong defensive start, but costly mistakes from Joe Flacco, missed opportunities, and injuries derailed the game plan. Chase Brown delivered a strong performance, and the defense produced multiple goal-line stands, but it still wasn’t enough. Plus, was the decision to keep Joe Burrow out another week the right one?

James Rapien breaks down the turning points, the defensive improvements, the offensive struggles, the injuries to Tee Higgins and Andre Iosivas, and where the Bengals go from here at 3–8.

The Bengals play the Ravens on Thursday night. The Thanksgiving matchup starts at 8:20 p.m. ET.

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