Injuries Finally Catching Up to Struggling Bengals as Playoff Race Tightens Up

In the blink of an eye, the Cincinnati Bengals have gone from one of the league's lone undefeated squads to a team riding a two-game skid after Sunday's 34-31 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. 

Blame injuries, not coaching decisions, Andy Dalton or prime-time narratives, above all else.

The loss to the Houston Texans fell on the shoulders of the coaching staff, but the Sunday Night Football gaffe was all about a hobbled secondary. The unit entered without top corner Adam Jones, one of the league's most underrated overall players.

Things started out well enough. Veteran corner Leon Hall picked off former teammate Carson Palmer, and safety Reggie Nelson added one of his own shortly after, helping the Bengals to take a lead into the break.

It was all downhill from there. The team lost Darqueze Dennard across from Dre Kirkpatrick to injury along with rotational safety Shawn Williams, as the team noted on Twitter:

In other words, the Bengals had to trot out little-used backup corner Chris Lewis-Harris and work in seventh-round rookie Derron Smith at safety. Others, including Josh Shaw and even Nelson, could be seen dealing with ailments on the sidelines.

So it shouldn't have come as a shock when Palmer wound up throwing for four scores, nor was it much of a surprise that each one went to a different person. It wasn't a shocker the Cardinals rattled off a 21-0 advantage in the third frame, and the late drive to put the team in field-goal range was borderline predictable.

Kirkpatrick was the first to sound off and partially take the blame after the loss, according to ESPN.com's Coley Harvey:

One could argue over the merits of offensive coordinator Hue Jackson's play-calling until the old throat goes hoarse. He left enough time on the clock after the team's final offensive drive for Palmer to gun his way down the field against an injured unit.

Pointing such a finger discredits his otherwise stellar night, though, and maybe it's wise to throw more of the finger at defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, who has to know by now that the prevent-esque looks give up yards upon yards—especially with backups in the game. Palmer looked like he was playing pitch and catch in practice with his receivers on the most important drive of the game against pillow-soft coverage.

The silver lining to all of this? The Bengals picked a good time to have injury issues.

First of all, the team isn't going to encounter an offense like Arizona's often. Palmer's the hottest quarterback in the game right now. Coach Bruce Arians' system gets four catches for 142 yards and a score out of a J.J. Nelson, not to mention eight for 90 from Larry Fitzgerald.

Two, the Bengals can give those hobbled in the secondary plenty of time to rest with an upcoming matchup against the St. Louis Rams on the slate. Those Rams tout Case Keenum under center and no receivers to speak of, and really, a Week 13 matchup against the Cleveland Browns after that isn't so scary, either.

In a wider context, though, the Bengals rest at 8-2 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and a red-hot Ben Roethlisberger hoping to catch up at 6-4. Sooner or later, the Bengals will have to get healthy or make the right adjustments to ensure that a division and playoff race once thought a piece of cake remains that way.

If the Bengals are still serious about fighting for a playoff bye, the recovery of the secondary needs to come even sooner.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

No matter what happens, it was a matter of time before the Bengals got bit by the injury bug. In fact, the team's ability to avoid the bug might have been the most underrated reason behind the undefeated start. Remember, Cincinnati hadn't altered the original 53-man roster until it had to re-add one of the best linebackers in the league, Vontaze Burfict.

Injuries are a hurdle every title contender faces. They're the main culprit behind the team's struggles right now, although the timing underneath national spotlights brushes the factoid aside.

The situation looks dire right now, but none of the Cincinnati injuries sound terrible. In fact, the team just lost by three points on a last-second field goal to a Super Bowl contender on the road in prime time without its top corner and two critical rotation pieces.

Translation: The Bengals will be just fine as the playoff race continues to surge forward, so long as they can get healthy.

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