A false narrative about the Bengals has already started and the team will have to work hard to change it
It didn't take long for a blatantly false narrative about the Cincinnati Bengals to start after their season-ending loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. After the game, a reporter captured a video of Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt showing some visible frustration with a late hit by Cincy defensive end Joseph Assai that […]
It didn't take long for a blatantly false narrative about the Cincinnati Bengals to start after their season-ending loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
After the game, a reporter captured a video of Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt showing some visible frustration with a late hit by Cincy defensive end Joseph Assai that helped set up Kansas City's game-winning field goal.
Pratt was seen screaming that it was his last year and asked why he'd (Assai) touch the quarterback.
That video, combined with the Bengals' roster decisions moving forward (extending Joe Burrow, the likely departure of Jessie Bates, etc), had opposing fans flooding social media with comments about Cincinnati falling apart.
Plenty of fans suggested that this is the beginning of the end for the Bengals.
That's a completely absurd takeaway from this one moment that we happened to see. But unfortunately for Cincinnati, that's going to be the narrative all offseason.
It's a shame because it couldn't be further from the truth.
Every Bengals player that reporters spoke to on Sunday night had Assai's back. They didn't blame him for the loss and they made sure to rally around him. It's something that Assai said meant a lot to him.
BJ Hill even stood beside him while he fielded tough questions from reporters.
When you see stuff like that or you hear the comments from Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor about how close this team was this season, it makes you quickly realize that the moment from Pratt was just a raw reaction to a huge play. He was walking off the field after a brutal loss and still processing what happened.
Pratt, by the way, later told reporters that he wants to return in 2023, despite what he said in the viral video in the tunnel after the game.
Suggesting that the Bengals have locker room issues because of a 10-second clip floating around the internet isn't fair at all to the team.
Cincinnati will now have to battle this narrative all offseason. And they're going to need to be careful to not let it seep into the locker room.
It's unfortunate that this is the takeaway after another great season from the Bengals. The silver lining, however, is that it should serve as plenty of motivation for Cincinnati in 2023. They'll have to prove folks wrong once again.
Featured image via Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
