Biggest Takeaways from Cincinnati Bengals' Week 10 Loss

The undefeated Cincinnati Bengals took to prime time for a Monday Night Football affair against a familiar opponent in the Houston Texans and left the spotlight with a 10-6 loss, an 8-1 record and a sour taste in their mouths.

Although the Cincinnati defense played a great game, Andy Dalton threw for just 197 yards and an interception, the game plan called for just 15 rushes by running backs, Tyler Eifert dropped several passes and A.J. Green fumbled late, allowing the Texans to escape.

Call it a critical learning experience for a Bengals team that's still growing, and up to this point, had pulled off a handful of late comebacks to remain perfect. As they say, though, one can learn more through losses than triumphs.

Let's take a look at the top takeaways from the team's loss and what they mean moving forward as the Bengals continue to gun for a playoff berth and more.

The Ground Game Isn't Working

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

It seems like every week the knock on the Bengals is that they need to rediscover their run-first ways in order to sustain their success. 

That proved to be the case Monday night against the Texans, as Giovani Bernard rushed for just 36 yards on eight carries and Jeremy Hill had yet another down game with seven carries for 15 yards. 

Some of the credit goes to Houston, but the Bengals couldn't help but shoot themselves in the foot and take the backs out of running situations in the first place.

The team's supposedly potent committee of running backs isn't getting it done on the ground behind one of the league's better lines, and although the Bengals want to be a pass-first team this year, the ground game can't be a complete non-factor or neither approach will work.

Secondary Issues Are Gone

Gary Landers/Associated Press

Early in the season, Cincinnati's decision to start young corners such as Dre Kirkpatrick seemed to backfire, as the unit suffered from miscommunications and was prone to surrendering big plays.

Over the course of the past few weeks, though, these issues have evaporated. The unit gave up just 10 points to both Pittsburgh and Cleveland before Monday's game, then had another respectable outing against the Texans, as their quarterbacks combined for just 174 yards, one score and an interception.

Granted, DeAndre Hopkins skied for a beauty of a touchdown catch, but otherwise Kirkpatrick broke up a handful of key plays and Darqueze Dennard even got in on a big pass breakup in the end zone.

That's a sign of a great team: the ability to identify weaknesses and fix them as the season progresses.

Cincinnati's Weapons Aren't Invincible

John Minchillo/Associated Press

So the theory the Bengals can beat anyone with a variety of names might not hold up so well anymore.

Green was a ghost for most of Monday night, which can happen when a team slaps a respectable corner on him and puts a solid safety over the top. Sprinkle in a rush that forced Dalton to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible, and it's no wonder he only caught five passes for 67 yards.

Dalton's inaccuracy and some good disguises by Houston kept the Cincinnati passing game in check Monday, and there wasn't much Marvin Jones, Eifert or anyone else could do about it.

In a way, the Bengals need to get back to basics. They seemed focused on fancy formations while giving up silly flags and moving backwards or otherwise missing connections too often.

With any luck, Monday was an anomaly the team can learn from. The worst-case scenario? Houston just created a blueprint on how to beat the Bengals.

Coaching Staff Has Work to Do

Frank Victores/Associated Press

If the blame falls on anyone for Cincinnati's loss, it's the coaching staff.

There's absolutely no excuse for pre-snap flags by a home team with an extra prep day thanks to a Monday game. Really, there's no excuse for a team coming close to Cincinnati's nine flags for 70 yards.

It's easy to point to drops by Eifert or the fumble by Green, but the Bengals seemed to overthink things on offense Monday night, splitting out offensive linemen wide instead of better balancing an offensive attack that passed 38 times to 21 rushes, of which just 15 were by running backs.

Heck, point at Green receiving just seven targets despite Houston being down a starting corner and trotting out a rookie to defend him.

No matter who takes or deserves the blame, Marvin Lewis' staff also has to adapt and improve upon the sluggish performance. Otherwise, this could just be foreshadowing for the team's next postseason bid.

These Performances Happen

Gary Landers/Associated Press

While the fun thing might be to overreact to the defeat, the truth is rather simple—even the best teams have off days. 

Monday was one for the Bengals, who encountered a team they're better than. The funny thing is, the better team doesn't always win, and the Texans don't get enough credit as it is, even if they happen to reside in what might be the worst division of all time.

It's not as if the Bengals beat themselves, although Lewis was quick to point out after the game that the issues they had won't happen often, via Jay Morrison of Cox Media Group: "A.J [Green] won't fumble, Tyler [Eifert] won't drop balls. We'll go back to work." 

Bingo. Cincinnati caught a few bad breaks in a sloppy game in which 16 total points were scored. It happens. Nothing whatsoever exists to say the Bengals cannot learn from their mistakes, forget this performance and start another winning streak.

If the Bengals had to remind the world that they're human and prone to mistakes, doing it after an 8-0 start isn't so bad.

A loss stings, but it's what comes next that's important.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.