Bengals Win: Final Result Is All That Matters

A win is a win is a win, no matter how lousy your team looks in the process.

Cincinnati survived a comatose offense, a vulnerable defense, and long snapper Brad St. Louis’ sudden case of the yips to beat Cleveland 23-20 in overtime Sunday.

It wasn’t pretty, but thankfully this is the NFL, not the BCS, where nobody hands out style points. The bottom line is getting the victory, then moving on to next week.

It’s a concept that some fans have a hard time wrapping their heads around. “We didn’t play well,” they say, or, “We should have blown that team out.” True, but the bottom line is the final score. Nothing else truly matters.

Sure, you would like your team to play better, but would you rather be a 3-1 Bengals team that has yet to play a truly good game, or an 0-4 Tennessee Titans team that has played well enough to win. History says Tennessee’s season is effectively over, while the Bengals are just getting started.

There are a lot of things about the 2009 Bengals that make you shudder. St. Louis has been one of the league’s best long snappers for a decade—his poor snap at the end of the Denver game four years ago not withstanding—but has suddenly found it difficult to hit the holder in stride. Both blocked kicks on Sunday were the result of poor snaps.

It’s a problem that needs to be dealt with, but the solution isn’t as easy as just cutting St. Louis. A competent replacement would have to be found, and that individual would have to find an instant rhythm with holder Kevin Huber and Shayne Graham. Frankly, the best solution may be standing pat and helping St. Louis work through this rough patch.

The Bengals’ other issues are much easier to solve. In 17 quarters this season—including the overtime period Sunday—the Bengals' offense has looked pathetic in 11 of them. But quarterback Carson Palmer has found a way to rally the troops for late scores in all four games, and if he can do that in the final two minutes, then eventually the team can do it for 60.

The defense looked lost at times, but that could be attributed to the absences of tackle Tank Johnson and safety Roy Williams. The two former Cowboys have brought a level of swagger to the defense that can’t be measured.

But the bottom line is that the Bengals survived a desperate division foe on the road. The Browns had their backs to the wall and were in a must-win situation against their archrival. You knew Cleveland would play their best game of the season, and they didn’t disappoint.

But in the end, it was Cincinnati celebrating at midfield and enjoying the fact that it is now tied for first place in the AFC North. That may not be much in college football, but in the NFL it’ll work out just fine.