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Bengals fall to Broncos--is the season over?
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Can Palmer and the gang regroup?--photo by AP
Forty-eight hours after the Bengals handed an unlikely victory to the Denver Broncos, the shock still hasn't worn off.
If you happen to live in India and haven't heard or seen the already-crowned 'play of the year', here's what went down Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium:
With 38 seconds on the clock, and the Bengals leading 7-6 after their only successful drive of the game, Kyle Orton throws a pass from his own 13-yard line that is batted straight up in the air by the Bengals--and caught by Brandon Stokley, who trucks it into the endzone. Thanks to a failed two-point conversion, and a last second interception by Carson Palmer, Denver pulls off a 12-7 win.
Here are the obvious negatives:
-Laveraneus Coles has to quit dropping so many passes (4).
-The Bengals defense should have had a 'mid-fielder' somewhere to prevent Stokely from going to the house.
-The offense was completely ineffective for 58 minutes of the game.
-There has to be better blitz pick-up from Cedric Benson.
-The Bengals averaged only 3.2 yards per carry and gave up three sacks.
But there are some positives:
-The defense looked very strong, picking up three sacks and only allowing 75 rushing yards.
-Punter Kevin Huber put five of seven punts inside the 20 yard line.
-The Bengals only had four penalties in the game.
-Carson Palmer looked decent having only played one-half of one quarter since week five of last season.
Has the sky fallen? Is 2009 over just as soon as it began?
The answer is no. While Sunday's loss, at home no less, to Denver was a lousy way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, not that there is a good way, it is the first game of the season. Granted the schedule looks brutal on paper, but think about the next two games.
The Packers picked up a victory against Chicago Sunday night. Aaron Rodgers, however, was sacked four times in that game. They only had 76 yards of rushing. Their defense allowed Jay Cutler and his rag-tag group of second-rate receivers to amass 266 yards in the air with only two sacks picked up.
The Steelers squeaked out an overtime victory against Tennessee last Thursday night. Tennessee has a good defense, but Pittsburgh has a weak offensive line that allowed four sacks on a quarterback that is hard to get down. The Steelers' defense will come to Cincy without the services of Troy Polamalu, the undisputed catalyst of that defense. The Steelers gained an average of 1.6 yards per carry.
Both of those two games are winnable. Obviously the Bengals have a lot of work to do this week, but as Palmer and Coles work together on those catches, and the defense stays as intense as it was in Week One, the team can pull those off.
But they have to win big. Had the last-minute freak catch not happened Sunday and the Bengals won 7-6, yes it would have been a victory, but it wouldn't have been anything to be proud of, because the offense stunk. If the Bengals win one or both games by narrow margins based on the mistakes of their opponents, the outlook for a post-season appearance won't be much better than an 0-3 start.
But if the Bengals can come out and decisively smash both the Packers and Steelers in the mouth and build some momentum, they will be back in the post-season hunt. The team confidence will shoot up, and people will have to take notice of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Do they have the character to get back on the horse?
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