Biggest Takeaways from Cincinnati Bengals' Week 11 Loss
Coming off a short week, the Cincinnati Bengals met the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football and took a last-second loss in 34-31 fashion.
It was a miserable way to lose late, that being the offense driving down the field to tie things up, only to leave enough time on the clock for the opposing offense to return the favor and kick the game-winning field goal.
Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton couldn't keep pace with the man he replaced, Carson Palmer, throwing two touchdowns to Palmer's four as the Arizona offense exploited an injured Cincinnati secondary.
It's by no means the end of the world, as most road losses to a Super Bowl contender aren't, though it's one the team would have liked to had.
Within, let's take a look at the biggest takeaways from the loss surrounding the team as it next turns its attention to another cross-conference encounter with the St. Louis Rams.
Flags Are a Serious Issue
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Marvin Lewis' team has slipped into sloppy territory over the past two games.
With Houston in town Monday night, the Bengals committed nine penalties for 70 yards in a 10-6 loss. Sunday night, Cincinnati came out sloppy again, racking up 10 flags for 108 yards by night's end thanks to illegal blocks and silly post-play infractions.
Fox Sports 1360's Chick Ludwig put it best: "The Bengals have found the enemy. He's staring at them in the mirror. Six stupid penalties for 68 yards early in the second quarter. BRUTAL!"
This is a correctable issue for the Bengals, but it's not one that should have cropped up in the first place on a team that just a few days back sat at 8-0.
How the Bengals clean up the issues will say a lot about the team's chances.
The Secondary Needs Adam Jones Healthy
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Yes, this might be one of the more obvious takeaways of the season.
At first it didn't look like the Bengals would miss starting corner Adam Jones much Sunday night, as Leon Hall and Reggie Nelson picked off Carson Palmer in the first half.
One blown coverage in the second half later, though, and the Arizona offense found a rhythm and plenty of success against the secondary. By game's end, John Brown finished with three catches for 43 yards and a score, Larry Fitzgerald had eight for 90 and J.J. Nelson four for 142 and a score of his own.
If anyone needed proof of what a special player Jones is, Sunday was it. Granted, the Bengals won't always see an offense as deep as Arizona's, but it's clear for the third year running that Jones might be the most important player on the defense behind only Geno Atkins.
The Offense Can Still Power Run
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It didn't look like it going into Sunday's game, but the Bengals can still very much be the run-first team of years past.
After ignoring the ground game in last week's loss and using it in sporadic fashion at best, Cincinnati seemed recommitted to the idea Sunday night before the 21-0 third quarter.
By the end of the night, Jeremy Hill had 13 carries for 45 yards and two scores, while complement Giovani Bernard carried it six times for 18 yards.
It was a refreshing approach for the Bengals, who used the strategy to take a lead into halftime before things went awry in the second half. Even better, the outburst came against an elite unit, so it's clear the power-running approach remains a viable option for the Bengals in the coming weeks.
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There's No Quit in the Offense
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Time and again it looks like Dalton and the offense won't have what it takes to bring the team back.
Sunday was yet another case of observers perhaps turning the game off early after Arizona exploded for a 21-0 third quarter. But like they did against the Seattle Seahawks and others, the Bengals rallied around Dalton to tie things up late.
Despite four sacks, a potential fumble and a wild crowd, Dalton and the offense found a way to make things happen late. Granted, said things left too much time on the clock, but it's the latest example of the Bengals sticking with games and making plays late when past iterations of the team usually didn't.
Dalton spoke with ESPN.com's Coley Harvey afterward about the late fight: "Andy Dalton: 'You don't want to leave too much time on the clock, but you want to win. It's tough for it to end that way.'"
This time the late-game heroics didn't produce a win, but it was the defense faltering, not the offense. It's another sign of growth for the young team, but especially the offense that in past years needed to be carried by the defense in tough games.
Prime-Time Woes Won't Go Away
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The Bengals entered Sunday with a chance to put away the prime-time narrative forever, even after a fluky loss to Houston last week.
Injuries or not, the Bengals came up short in pursuit of putting the angle behind them with the loss.
To make matters worse, it came against a player in Palmer who is quite close to the franchise in a game the league flexed to the national spotlight, almost as if giving the Bengals a chance to turn the proverbial corner on a silver platter.
It would be one thing to write it off as injuries helping lead the Cardinals to a 21-point third quarter, but ceaseless flags, blown coverages and spotty performances by offensive linemen put the Bengals in a poor spot to begin with and suggest they have plenty of work to do in the coming weeks.
The season is far from over for the Bengals, and two losses isn't the end of the world. But a pair of prime-time losses, no matter how close, means continued relentless questions and doubts as the team attempts to prove they belong among the contenders.
They do, especially after hanging tough with a contender in a rough situation, but a loss is still a loss.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
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