Bengals coach confirms suspicion regarding game-changing play, and his explanation simply isn’t good enough
The Cincinnati Bengals made two critical special teams errors in their Week 3 loss to Pittsburgh. One of them was a conscious coaching decision that extended a Steelers drive and led to points.
It’s not often when special teams are an undeniable culprit behind a Cincinnati Bengals loss. It’s even more rare when a decision by special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons comes back to bite him.
Cincinnati made critical errors on special teams during its Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ke’Shawn Williams’ muffed punt, and PJ Jules’ subsequent failure to recover it, were agonizing in-the-moment mistakes. There wasn’t much Simmons could control at that moment.
The error that preceded it, however, is entirely on the Bengals’ longest tenured coach, and it cost the Bengals dearly.
Darrin Simmons’ aggression cost the Bengals
Defensive end Cedric Johnson came close to blocking Steelers punter Cameron Johnston’s first punt of the day. The only thing Johnson made contact with was Johnston’s plant leg. A fourth-and-six turned into a first-and-10 and new life for Pittsburgh’z offense early in the fourth quarter. The continued drive ended in Aaron Rodgers’ third passing touchdown of the game.
Note the exact scenario. Cincinnati’s defense had not forced a punt until the final 15 minutes of the game! One lucky interception off a dropped pass was the lone win for a unit that was bullied for nearly all afternoon.
When the Bengals finally got to receive a punt, Simmons opted to risk it all by sending a full-on block attempt. He confirmed to reporters Monday afternoon it was his call.
“Yeah, we were rushing him,” Simmons said. “We’re coming after him. We’re trying to block the punt.”
The question is simple: why?
Why would Simmons run the risk of roughing the punter on a day when Cincinnati’s defense was struggling so hard getting Pittsburgh off the field? Wouldn’t this be the time to play it conservatively and just take the ball back any way you could get it?
“I don’t know when a good moment is,” Simmons continued. “When is a good moment to rush the punter? We’re ahead. We’re behind. I mean, when is the best opportunity? I think it was the first punt of the game, first time they punted. It’s something that we felt, I felt very confident in that we could get a lot of pressure on them, and we did. Ced just got too close to him.
“But in terms of the situation of when, I don’t know when the right and when the wrong situation is. I mean, it was the first opportunity they’d had in the game to come after it, and I felt confident that we could pressure him and get it. And he’s extremely close. His arm’s right there. It wasn’t close enough.”
The reasoning, or lack thereof, doesn’t hold up
This isn’t a worthwhile answer from Simmons. It’s just not. He’s been the special teams coordinator for two decades. If there’s anyone qualified to know when the time to go for the block is right, it’s him.
Simmons said it himself. It was the first punt Cincinnati forced. The defense, on cue, gave up its third touchdown of the day directly after getting back on the field so abruptly. Risking a game-changing penalty in a completely unforced manner was a slap in the face.
It would be one thing if Johnson was too aggressive and acting on his own, but Simmons confirmed the Bengals were taking a miscalculated risk. The situation didn’t call for that, not in the moment and not in hindsight.
Cincinnati can accept a rare muffed punt. Those are unfortunate, but ultimately a mistake. Johnson himself deserves blame as well for actually committing the penalty, but a trusted coordinator’s deliberate choice to risk denying a gift is a different conversation entirely.
The Bengals needed the ball back. The defense earned the stop it provided. Instead, Pittsburgh turned a gift possession into seven points. It falls on Simmons, and his questionable judgement.
