That was simply unbelievable.
Oh my, where to start?
Carson Palmer 21 of 35 for 234 yards, 1 TD and 2 picks. That works out to QB Rating of 65.65 (Ben Rothesburger Type numbers) Carson is supposed to be much better than this.
I counted 2 dropped balls by the rookie, 3 catches that Chad had hands on but that were nearly impossible to catch. The fact that he got hands on them was pretty amazing in and of itself.
About 6 completely blown throws including the miss-communication that lead to the interception. Is that on Carson or Chad? Based upon recent trends, I put that on Carson.
Things that rung loud and true after the game.
New England is a machine, a team of men. The Bengals are still a team of boys. The biggest problem is this offensive unit has been in place now for 5+ years and time is quickly running out.
It was a game that required the third rookie wide receiver and the tight end to come up big and they almost did. Kenny Watson played well too. But in the clutch it was Carson that let the O down from my perspective.
We knew the D would struggle, and all we could hope for was that the O could keep it close. Keeping it close would give them a chance. Nobody really expected a win, but we didn’t expect to be man handled in that way either. Our O, even without Henry should be able to keep pace with *most* teams. At least on paper.
Injuries suck, no doubt about that either, but guys need to step up.
Justin Smith? Come on… Make a play. Our only sack of the game happened because we jumped off sides.
Some Positives
1) S. Graham made all of his field goals.
2) The special teams kick coverage wasn’t horrible.
3) K. Watson, ran well.
4) T.J. 10 catches for 100 yards
5) M. Williams 8 Tackles and he didn’t play the whole game. It’s positive that he made 8 tackles, not positive that he had to make the stops.
It is truly a sad day though when the Cleveland fans can actually feel better about their team than the Bengals fans can.
Marvin was allegedly upset after the game and rightfuly so. But some bad coaching calls were made.
3rd Quarter, down by 17, time running out, and you haven’t made a decent defensive stop all day and you kick the field goal. I understand the logic if your D is playing at least marginally. But that was the time to make a statement. The team mailed it in after that field goal. 3 points is 3 points, but that was the time to make the statement. It’s as if the team mailed it in after that.