The Bengals were riding high following the win over the Steelers, a team with only one loss going into the game, and seemed eager to prove themselves with a game against the winless Jets. It looked like it would be the case after a quick start got the Bengals off to a 17-3 lead, and it seemed like both sides of the ball were stepping up.
However, that quickly proved not to be the case, as the defense was embarrassing in the second half, allowing the Jets, who have arguably been the worst offense in the league through the first eight weeks, to score 39 points.
The offense has come back to life under Joe Flacco, but the team now looks like last year’s team — an elite offense but a defense that cannot pass-rush or get stops to save its life. Because of this, the Bengals lost 39-38 and fell to 3-5. If they could just figure out a way to get pressure or some defensive stops and earn a win over the Bears next week, they will face the Steelers with a chance to get to .500 and several very winnable games still remaining.
Still, Al Golden was brought in to fix the defense, and as of now, it’s worse than last year.
Is it his fault, though, or the front office that has used countless resources on a defensive line that is still the worst in the league?
Let’s take a look at the Twitter reactions to the Bengals’ worst loss of the year so far and maybe of the Zac Taylor era.
Bengals Twitter Reactions vs. Jets