Burrow said Sunday’s loss was the most frustrating of his career for “pretty self-explanatory” reasons. Now the Bengals are 4-7 going into the bye this week, with six games remaining to try to salvage the season with the slightest margin for error.
“Just got to make the plays,” Burrow said after the game. “We have it down the stretch and we’re not a good enough team to – our margin of error is slim, so we got to make those plays. I got to make those plays. We all got to make those plays.”
Bengals coach Zac Taylor continues to describe the close losses as sickening, but still can’t put a finger on why his team can’t finish games.
On Sunday, the offense couldn’t get the job done in the redzone in two trips during an otherwise poor first half, while the defense allowed points on four straight drives going into halftime, including three touchdowns. Execution was better in the second half, as the offense scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives to tie the game and the defense buckled down to record a turnover, force four three-and-outs and limit the Chargers to a field goal until their final drive.
After the Bengals missed field goals on back-to-back drives and still had two more series in the final 90 seconds and couldn’t get the job done.
“I can’t (explain it),” Taylor said. “I wish I could. It’s a team we believe in, a team that believes in each other. It’s sick, the way that these games are ending and the way that we come off the field every week, the feeling I got when I talk to the team in the locker room after all these endings this year. You know, what I just keep telling the team is, ‘at some point, this has got to help us. At some point we got to find some momentum and we got to get on a run. We’ve got to find ourselves in a good position where we reflect back.’ We don’t ever want to use a loss for good, but it’s got to help us in some way. We’ve played some really good football teams and we just got to find a way to finish it. I keep saying that and obviously, we’re a play away every time I say it, but I still got the confidence that we can get this thing done.”
Taylor said he doesn’t believe there is a need for “wholesale changes” because of how close the team has been to six more wins. Cincinnati needs to do something to figure out how to close games out, though.
While the Chargers moved up a spot in the playoff picture and now appear to be a real threat in the AFC, the Bengals fell from the No. 9 position to No. 10. The Colts (5-6) and Dolphins (4-6) are ahead of them, below the playoff line, and Denver (6-5) would be the last team in if the season ended today.
Cincinnati returns from the bye to play the first of two matchups still remaining against the AFC North-leading Steelers (8-2) on Dec. 1 at Paycor Stadium. Taylor believes the Bengals can still win enough games down the stretch to accomplish their postseason goals.
“I’m not just saying it to convince others,” Taylor said. “I say what I believe right now. When you watch this team compete, the guys we got and the coaches we got, I love going to work every single day. It’s not something you dread where you’re 4-7 and you don’t want to be around these people. It’s the opposite of that because I can see that something special can still be there. People may not believe it. That’s okay, I get that. But I’ve seen this group do some really good things before and I still believe that we can get this thing turned around and do that.”
Burrow’s performances have much to do with that belief. The defense has shown capable of making stops late in games but hasn’t been consistent enough in crunch time, and even Burrow acknowledged he missed his opportunities to get the team over the hump. On Sunday, it was a combination of shortcomings in all phases.
But while Taylor remains optimistic about the outlook, a frustrated Burrow may need some convincing.
“I guess we’ll find out,” Burrow said. “We know where we’re at. I’m not happy with where we’re at. I don’t think anybody is, but all you can do is come back tomorrow and try to get better.”
About the Author