Bengals Can't Afford More Offensive Ineptitude After Embarrassing 'SNF' Loss

The Cincinnati Bengals entered Sunday night's matchup with the New England Patriots with an undefeated record and an opportunity to establish themselves as one of the best teams in the entire league.

Cincinnati left the contest with a bruised ego, a 43-17 loss and a lot of questions.

Losing to a team with a formula for sustained success like New England certainly isn't cause to hit the panic button in Cincinnati. However, the fact that the Bengals lost in disastrous fashion and didn't compete is cause for concern.

Over the first three games of the season, the team outscored opponents 80-33. The offense was ranked 10th in the NFL (384.0 yards per game), and the defense was ranked first in points allowed (11 per game).

With the bright lights of prime time shining on the Bengals, the team was soundly outplayed in all phases of the game.

The most troublesome aspect of the Cincinnati defeat was the uncharacteristic stumbling on offense. Sure, it hurts to surrender 43 points to an opponent, but the Bengals had opportunities to keep this game close before turnovers and sloppy offensive play killed the team down the stretch.

As a team, the Bengals amassed just 320 net yards of offense and turned the football over three times (once on a kickoff return). 

Starting quarterback Andy Dalton was a mediocre 15-of-24 passing for 204 yards, though he did toss two touchdowns. The running game was an even bigger disappointment. Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill combined for just 63 yards on 15 attempts.

Dropped passes (we're looking at you, Jermaine Gresham), poor communication and suspect blocking plagued the offense throughout the contest. The offense was 0-of-7 converting third downs.

A missed Mike Nugent field goal in the first half helped add to a slow start for Cincinnati. But the Bengals found themselves down just 20-10 and with momentum early in the third quarter.

That was before another two fumbles and a number of stalled drives prevented the Bengals from putting points on the board and from giving their defense adequate periods of rest.

In all, the Bengals ran just 48 offensive plays to 82 by New England. The Patriots controlled the football for nearly 18 minutes more than the Bengals (38:56 to 21:04).

Even the best defenses are prone to breakdowns when asked to spend that much time on the field. To its credit, the Bengals defense still limited the Patriots to three offensive touchdowns on the night.

"If you turn the ball over and don't make any third downs, you have a chance to have this happen to you," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said in his postgame press conference. 

The reality is that while the defense and the special teams unit had their mistakes, it was the sputtering offense that really doomed Cincinnati on the road against New England.

The Bengals can't expect to win many games by only putting 17 points on the board. Only three teams—Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets and Oakland Raiders—currently average fewer than 17 points per game.

Cincinnati faces a tough stretch over the next three weeks with games against the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens looming. Even one loss over that stretch could destroy the Bengals' hold on the AFC North.

Cincinnati still leads the division, but the Ravens (3-2), Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) and Cleveland Browns (2-2) are all withing striking distance. 

	Yds Rushing	Yds Passing	Total Yds	Points
Average Through Week 3	121.7	262.3	384.0	26.7
Against New England	79	241	320	17

The Browns, interestingly, completed the biggest comeback by a road team in NFL history only hours before the Bengals and Patriots took the field. The inability of Cincinnati to make its own comeback bid puts the team in a precarious position.

Another poor offensive outing could open the door for one or more of the Bengals' division rivals to make a big move in the standings, especially if that outing comes in a divisional contest.

Not winning the division would take away Cincinnati's chance at a first-round bye and a home playoff game. This could prove disastrous. As the team proved Sunday against the Patriots, playing on the road in an important game can cause problems for the Bengals.