After the Baltimore Ravens improved to 7-6 with a win over the Lions, the Cincinnati Bengals failed to clinch their first AFC North title since 2005 after losing to the Minnesota Vikings 30-10. Despite winning four of their last five games entering Sunday, the Bengals failed to score a touchdown in the second half for the sixth game in a row.
With the loss, the Bengals move to 9-4 on the season with three remaining games against the San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and New York Jets. While Cincinnati currently holds the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs, the Bengals knew how important a win in Minnesota would have been.
Everything that could have gone wrong seemed to do so for the Bengals in Sunday's loss to the Vikings. Cincinnati struggled with penalties—finishing with 11 for 85 yards, including five in the first eight minutes of the game. The offense struggled to gain anything consistent the entire game. However, no factor may have been more surprising than the defense, which the Bengals have relied so heavily on for most of the season.
The Bengals entered Sunday’s game against the Vikings allowing just 15.6 points per game—the best in the NFL. After a scoreless first quarter, Cincinnati struggled to stop Minnesota’s offense the following three quarters, especially running back Adrian Peterson.
Peterson was determined to bounce back after a disappointing 19-yard performance in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals last weekend. Against the Bengals, he was able to find the end zone twice and finished just three yards shy of his fourth 100-yard game of the season.
It may have been just one game, but Cincinnati realizes how important Sunday’s loss to Minnesota was at this point in the season. The game against the Vikings was a test to see how the Bengals would matchup against a playoff caliber type team considering Minnesota currently holds the No. 2 seed in the NFC. If this was any indication of what to expect in the playoffs, it may be time to hit the panic button in Cincinnati.
Even though the Bengals have found success through a strong running game most of the season, they knew the best way to leave Minnesota with a win was a strong performance from their passing game. While the Vikings entered Sunday's game ranked third in rushing defense, they struggled in the passing game, allowing 227.2 yards per game, ranking them 21st in the NFL.
Unfortunately, Cincinnati struggled on both sides of the ball, especially in their passing game.
The Bengals fell behind to the Vikings early and were forced to play catch up and unable to run as much as they're used to. While running back Cedric Benson finished the day with 96 yards on just 16 carries, he gained most of his total from a 42-yard run near the end of the third quarter, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry otherwise.
For the sixth straight week, the Bengals passing game struggled and failed to live up to its potential. Even though he finished with no interceptions, quarterback Carson Palmer arguably had his worst game of the season statistically, finishing 15-of-25 for just 96 yards and a 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chad Ochocinco in the second quarter.
The Bengals offense failed to take advantage of the Vikings 21st ranked passing defense and failed to move the ball down the field through the air. The fact that Ochocinco led all Bengals wideouts with 27 yards is nothing short of embarrassing for a team loaded with talent at the wide receiver position.
They may have defeated the defending Super Bowl Champions twice this season, but the Bengals need to prove they have what it takes to survive in the playoffs after their recent loss to the Vikings. They have another chance to redeem themselves next week against another playoff-caliber type team when they travel to San Diego to take on the Chargers.
If their performance against the Chargers is as bad as it was against the Vikings, opposing teams may be looking forward to playing against the Bengals in the playoffs.
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