Bengals' backbreaking loss to Steelers further highlights a problem that should've already been addressed
The Cincinnati Bengals woke up Sunday morning with a 15% chance at making the postseason. They won't go to sleep mathematically eliminated, but at 4-8, the coffin has been lowered and the loved ones have dissipated from the service. All that's left are the nails. We know what killed this season. It's not Joe Burrow, who […]
The Cincinnati Bengals woke up Sunday morning with a 15% chance at making the postseason. They won't go to sleep mathematically eliminated, but at 4-8, the coffin has been lowered and the loved ones have dissipated from the service. All that's left are the nails.
We know what killed this season. It's not Joe Burrow, who continues to put up MVP numbers with wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins following suit. The stars of the offense can only do so much every week.
Cincinnati's defense has doomed the season, and Sunday was yet another example of that obvious fact.
The Bengals lost a 44-38 shootout to the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday. Each team had a defensive touchdown as well, so you can look at it as a 37-31 game in terms of offensive output.
Such nuance won't be awarded here on account of how historically terrible the Bengals have been in games when they put up a lot of points.
When you look at the history of teams who've scored as many points as the Bengals have in their losses, they're at the top of virtually every leaderboard. They actually made history as the first team to post four losses despite scoring at least 33 points in those contests. More history may be on the horizon in the coming weeks.
You can quantify how bad this defense is in so many ways, but the stat I find interesting involves the last three games. Per Bengals reporter Jay Morrison, the Bengals have now allowed at least 34 points in three consecutive games for the third time in franchise history. 1991 and 2018 where the previous two instances.
Here's what both of those years had in common: the defensive coordinator was either replaced after or during the season. Dick LeBeau was let go following the '91 season, and Teryl Austin was canned in the middle of the '18 campaign, which was also Marvin Lewis' final year as head coach.
I don't think this season should have a different outcome than those.
It's time to move on from defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo
Blame for the Bengals' defensive failures falls in numerous directions, but Anarumo is the face of the unit and must be held accountable. You simply can't excuse so many porous performances that have stacked on top of one another, especially when it's directly costing games and a trip back to meaningful January football.
This needs to be emphasized so everyone can grasp it. It's not as if this has only been a problem in a couple games here and there. The Bengals have played the same game at least five times times this year. Their offense plays mostly well throughout the afternoon and scores enough for a league average—no—just a below average defense to handle.
But the Bengals don't have a league average or just a below average defense. They make snails look like Usain Bolt. They are out of position more than the alternative. They're the ultimate underachievers who play like they don't believe in what they're being told to do.
Head coach Zac Taylor still has faith that the messaging from his staff to the unit getting through, but the numbers speak for themselves.
"I do, because you're seeing moments where they're getting us back in the game," Taylor said after the game. "Sometimes it's too little, too late. We're still having our opportunities there. But again, we got good leadership on that side. Guys I trust. Guys that, it means a lot to them. At this point, we're counting on everybody to stick together and find way to make some plays, get some wins."
For every moment Taylor is referring to, there are 20 others that say otherwise. The last play that mattered Sunday proves this. The defense had one last chance late in the fourth quarter to spark some life. A stop on third-and-four could give the ball back to Burrow with a little over a minute remaining in a six-point game. The Steelers brought in backup quarterback Justin Fields to run a read option.
Everyone in the stadium knew Fields was going to keep it. Why else would he be in the game for that play? The announcers knew it. The fans knew it. Everyone but the guys who were supposed to stop him knew it.
What a perfect representation of how this defense has fallen. Cincinnati used to come up with extraordinary clutch plays that would decide wins against great teams, even playoff games. Those days in 2021-22 feel like a lifetime ago now.
In all honesty, Anarumo's dismissal should've already happened. The opportunity was right in front of the Bengals two weeks ago after allowing 34 points to the Los Angeles Chargers on "Sunday Night Football." Despite a courageous second-half comeback, the defense put the offense in an all too familiar hole that was too great to escape from. The bye week followed, which gave the team time to get acquainted under an interim DC while establishing that this ineptitude wouldn't be tolerated.
The Chinese proverb says, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today." Whether Anarumo's fate is decided this week or at the end of the season, the Bengals need to move on either way.
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