5 things we learned from the Bengals’ gut wrenching loss to the Texans
The offense reverts back to its inconsistent ways of years past.
The Cincinnati Bengals had a bad game. It happens.
Ja’Marr Chase was in pain (though he still made a big impact). Tee Higgins was out. Tyler Boyd had two uncharacteristic drops, one that could’ve swung the outcome in Cincinnati’s favor. And Alex Cappa got completely dominated by Houston Texans defensive tackle Sheldin Rankins, who had his first three-sack game since high school.
The problem is, the Bengals can’t really afford many losses after a slow start. So what did we learn, and is there time to right the ship before a showdown with the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night?
The season is still in jeopardy
Just a few weeks ago, the Bengals were 1-3, and fans were ready to pack it in. A four-game win streak changed that to some degree, but the team still wasn’t in the clear. Even if Cincinnati looked fantastic the last two weeks, they still had too many losses on their record for there to be talk of a return to the Super Bowl./cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72861013/usa_today_21885256.0.jpg?w=678&ssl=1)
Now, at 5-4, the Bengals really don’t have the luxury of having off days like they did against Houston. Not only are there 11 teams in the AFC with five or more wins right now, but Cincinnati has the worst conference record of all of them.
Tanner Hudson is going to play a big role
The fifth-year tight end ended up with only 33 yards on six catches against the Texans. However, five of those receptions came on the opening drive, an indication that he was all over Zac Taylor’s script. Had the Bengals’ offense not fallen apart (largely due to poor protection), we probably would’ve seen Hudson more heavily involved after that as well.
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