Cincinnati Bengals: A Look Back At The 5 Keys And What Happened

The Cincinnati Bengals (8-2) lost their duel in the desert with the Arizona Cardinals (8-2) 34-31. It was a high-octane game that started out slow but ended with the intensity of a heavyweight fight. When the five keys to a Bengals win were posted last week, I was sure there would be a change in the offensive attack of the Bengals.

There was a slight variance in the plan, but overall Cincinnati strayed from many of the keys and the result was a loss. Let’s take a look back those keys, and figure out what happened.

Carson Palmer started the game playing as though he was still in a Bengals’ jersey. He threw two interceptions that were uncharacteristic of the Palmer who is in the thick of the MVP conversation. The Bengals’ defense had him looking confused, and making ill-advised passes into coverages that were well disguised.

The Bengals played a tough, gritty game under the prime time lights. Going into the game, Adam Jones was out with a foot injury, but the Bengals were able to stay ahead of the Cardinals and take a 14-7 lead into halftime.

Early in the third quarter, the Bengals’ had a blown coverage in the secondary. Miscommunication between Darqueze Dennard and George Iloka allowed J.J. Nelson to run free across the middle. Palmer found him for a 64-yard touchdown pass that tied the score 14-14. The Cardinals would run off 21 straight points, before the Bengals offense had any sense of urgency.

Get Andy Dalton into the flow

The Bengals didn’t come out firing, and couldn’t find an offensive flow until their third possession of the first quarter. Dalton was able to hook up with Tyler Eifert for the score, and things looked promising. The duo combined for another score with 3:44 left in the fourth quarter, to pull the Bengals within three points. The chemistry was back. Eifert held on to the last catch after enduring a bone-jarring hit. The dynamic duo looked good.

Hue Jackson

Once again, the play calling of Mr. Jackson was suspect for the Bengals. There weren’t as many exotic play formations, but the timing of the ones that were called proved crucial. His call for a run on a critical third-and-one will be questioned for a while. Either his or Marvin Lewis’ decision to start Jeremy Hill is beginning to cost the Bengals. Hill was frustrated and forced a penalty that hurt his team, yet he was still used in short yardage situations. Something has to be done about him or this could get ugly. Once again, according to ESPN statistics, Dalton was asked to drop back 39 times. That’s been a major theme, in the two losses.

The Bengals are a physical team. When they are allowed to play power football, there aren’t many teams that can withstand the pressure. This was another poor showing for the ground game. The Bengals had 99 yards rushing, but when you erase Dalton’s numbers–as he ran for his life–the Bengals had a mere 65 yards on the ground. When did Dalton become a scrambling quarterback? It’s great to have Dalton getting out of trouble, but he shouldn’t have as many yards as the premier back – that’s not a good sign. The running game is still in limbo, and the numbers look eerily similar to the Houston statistics.

The defense must be dominant

There was definitely pressure put on Palmer. The Bengals’ defense shined at times, but had too many coverage breakdowns due to injuries. The unit faced a high-scoring Cardinals team and held their own. They can only get better with healthy players returning.

The killer instinct

The Bengals displayed the ability to finish their opponent. Unfortunately, the urgency and drive came with too much time left on the clock and too late in the game. It seemed like the Bengals were playing a prevent defense that didn’t prevent Palmer from carving up the secondary. It was there for a brief moment, but lost with Paul Guenther’s play calls near the end.

[Feature Photo by Christian Peterson/Getty Images]