All that added up to a 24-0 loss for the Bengals in frigid temperatures on Sunday at Paycor Stadium and an official elimination from postseason contention. Here are three takeaways from Cincinnati’s 10th loss of the season:
1. A bad day for the offense
Burrow was about as hard on himself as he ever has been in a postgame press conference, and he apparently addressed his teammates in the locker room in a similar way, placing blame on himself and apologizing for letting them down.
“When your quarterback plays like that, your team is not going to have a chance to win,” Burrow said. “I’m obviously disappointed in my play today, so I have to be better.”
His “outlier” performance Sunday, which he said had nothing to do with his cryptic comments about personal frustrations Wednesday, started with a sack on third down on the first drive, which set the Bengals back 15 yards and out of field-goal range after they had moved inside the 30-yard line. On the second drive, he overthrew Ja’Marr Chase and the pass was picked off in a similar spot.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
A pick-six in the fourth quarter ended any chance of a comeback, but there wasn’t much good mixed in before that. Burrow didn’t see Kyle Van Noy as he was targeting Tanner Hudson, and Van Noy made the play, then pitched to Aholi Gilman for an 84-yard return to the end zone.
Burrow said there’s not a team in the NFL that would have won with him playing like that Sunday, and while he called it one of his worst games, there wasn’t a lot of other good things happening to help.
Chase had a big game but also dropped at least three passes, Andrei Iosivas had a big catch in his grasp and dropped it as he hit the ground and Mitch Tinsley dropped one late in the endzone. The Bengals, who had been so good on third downs a week ago, converted just three of 15 of them Sunday.
2. Ups and downs on defense
The Bengals were getting decent pressure on quarterback Lamar Jackson, which Taylor thought would have been a key to a positive outcome. It just unfortunately wasn’t enough, especially with the offense coming up short.
Cincinnati got stops on each of the first three drives, including Jordan Battle’s fourth interception of the season, but the Ravens scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead into halftime and kept the momentum going their first drive of the second half to tack on a field goal.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Bengals used up almost eight minutes on the drive that ended in a pick-six, so Baltimore only had one more full possession, resulting in a punt.
What had worked early in the game did not continue long enough. Baltimore started hitting explosive plays in the second quarter and that broke open the game. There were eight plays longer than 20 yards over the final three quarters.
Derrick Henry had 17 yards rushing in the first half and finished with 100, thanks to his first four plays of the second half totaling 78 yards.
“They’re an explosive team,” defensive end Myles Murphy said. “They’ve got guys all over at quarterback, O-Line, running back, receivers — you’ve got to do what you can to limit the explosives. I felt like we did a good job against the run and a couple contains, got pressure on them, but it was just the explosives. I was one of them that gave up one of the explosives. Those are just things that can’t happen.”
Murphy continued his personal progress, accounting for two of the team’s four sacks on Jackson.
3. Now what?
Taylor called it “unacceptable” for an offense as good as the Bengals’ to get shut out and said it starts with him. His seat certainly seems to be getting hotter as shortcomings continue into a third straight season without a playoff appearance, but he continues to share his belief in the staff and players on the team.
“As a play caller, when you walk away with no points, there’s a huge amount of accountability I’ve got to take for that. But it was just, overall, a very frustrating day,” Taylor said.
“It’s frustrating,” he added. “This is a team that I thought was a talented team that was going to have a chance to do big things this year.”
The Bengals haven’t been eliminated from the postseason this early since 2020 when they started 2-10-1 before getting a third and fourth win in the final three games. Each of the past two seasons, Cincinnati finished 9-8 and still had something to play for at this point.
In 2023, the Bengals were eliminated with a Week 17 loss at Kansas City, but last year, they had to wait until final games were played in Week 18 to learn they weren’t getting the help they needed to make the postseason.
Taylor said his players are still professionals and will be playing to win the last three games, regardless of not having a chance to make the postseason. It’s not so easy to convince the fans to stick with them.
“Just hang in there with us,” Taylor said when asked what message he has for fans wanting to know what will be different in 2026. “It’s been frustrating. We’re still pouring our heart and soul into this thing and finding a way to win. It’s been a frustrating season. I understand that.”
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