The Bengals Are Left Wondering What Might Have Been

Was Sunday’s 23-20 defeat in Kansas City as gutting a loss as the Super Bowl was some 50 weeks ago? The mere fact we have to compare them is so depressing I can barely summon the strength to write this column. I suppose there are worse things in life than to spend time examining a pair of last-second losses in two enormous games, but I can’t think of any at the moment.

Just as with Supe 56, Cincinnati had a great chance to defeat a beaten-up opponent but let it slip away. Of course, the game in L.A. was for the ever-elusive championship that would have let us accept defeat in K.C. a bit easier, and that is crucial. But the 2022 version of Cincinnati was better than the 2021 squad, in my opinion—more complete and certainly ready to win this game and the next.

After the loss to the Rams, the main feeling was “the best is yet to come.” After Sunday, the main feeling was “what might have been.” Roster construction and increased competition will only get more difficult from here on out. And those are two championships we won’t win but could have.

Ask yourself this: Leaving out all other factors, would you have signed up for having the ball at the 33-yard-line in a tie game with 56 seconds and two timeouts left? How much would you have wagered that Joe Burrow wins the game in that scenario? Your car? Your house?

Yet from that moment, just after Burrow hit Hayden Hurst with a stunning conversion on third and 16, every single thing went against Cincinnati. The sack by Chris Jones. The bad punt, the big return, and the missed block in the back Trifecta of Doom. Joe Ossai’s brain cramp (as deserving of a name as the Fumble in the Jungle) of a late hit, which set up the Chiefs for victory. And the field goal that ended it.

If Cincinnati could have just gotten to overtime, their chances were pretty strong for a repeat of the 2021 win. Both offenses had basically ground to a halt. The crumbled Bengals O-line prevented any sizable gains, while K.C.’s inability to run and lack of decent wideouts meant the winner would be determined by mistakes. I assumed the Bengals would be the team to take advantage of and/or force that mistake, the way they did all season. But instead, we handed it right to the Chiefs.

At least with the Super Bowl, you can credit the Rams with making some enormous plays that were unaided by Cincinnati defenders or the refs. Other than the Jones sack, not so much with this endgame. Pat Mahomes, admittedly gutty for most of the game, did nothing in the fourth quarter on his “bad” leg and yet winds up credited as the hero.

As with the Super Bowl, Cincinnati was overmatched in the trenches in K.C. The backup linemen returned to Earth with a thud against after playing so well on Buffalo’s snowy pitch. It wasn’t exactly a surprise—even the starters would struggle to contain Jones, who (as I stupidly pointed out last week) had never had a playoff sack before his monstrous performance Sunday. Asking that tattered front five to hold up in such a crucible was asking the moon. Perhaps (probably) the vaunted Eagles pass rush would annihilate them in the forthcoming Super Bowl. But I sure would have liked to have the chance.

I won’t get into too many details about the game itself. It’s just too painful. I will say that K.C. accentuated tackling, which Cincinnati exposed as a weakness last season (in the main via Ja’Marr Chase). Here are the Yards After Catch for the Bengals in the last four meetings with the Chiefs:

The difference between top and bottom can be encapsulated by two plays: Chase’s sprint after catching a short hitch to reignite the Bengals in last year’s regular season game, and Sunday’s failure by Tee Higgins to get out of bounds on the stroke of halftime when doing so may have meant four extra points. The Chiefs’ defense played with energy and fire and was better on the day than the Bengals’ offense.

Was that because of the “Burrowhead” nonsense and the smack talk by Mayor Aftab Pureval? Probably not, but on the other hand that stuff palpably shifted the karma. All season, and especially against the Bills, the Bengals played with a Gibraltar-sized chip of disrespect on their collective shoulder. Why hand it over to the team that’s playing at home, is already angered by three straight losses to us, and is dying for any excuse to play the underdog “nobody believes in us” role that, in their case, is complete BS? It was unnecessary and simply set us up for bad juju—especially with Bad JuJu Smith-Schuster on the opposing sideline.

Therefore, I hereby announce my candidacy for Mayor of Cincinnati, with a single promise to the people of the Queen City: I will not ever open my fat trap to taunt other teams before big games. See you at City Hall!

As for the shambolic refereeing, yes, it was bad; yes, we got screwed a few times; and yes, the penalty on Ossai had to be called. Imagine if that was Burrow getting shoved three yards out of bounds. There was no ill intent, it was hardly a brutal hit, but it gets called every single time. Sunday was no exception. It was a terrible shame, because Ossai played very well and is poised for a big Year Three after missing all of his rookie season. But it was a penalty.

Also, by the letter of the law, those weren’t blatant missed holds on our D-linemen while Mahomes was escaping the pocket. Borderline, yes, not blatant. Look up the “rip move” codicil in the rulebook if you can stomach it.

Crappy reffing is part of the game. You notice it only when you’ve left it close enough to matter, which is what Cincinnati did on Sunday.

The inescapable fact is that for all of Burrow’s greatness, the common denominator in both the Super Bowl and the AFC title game was this: He had the ball late with a chance to win and didn’t get it done—unlike last season’s two road playoff wins, for example. Both opportunities ended via the sack, which tells you about his handicap; nonetheless, when a young Tom Brady had his moment in the 2001 Super Bowl against the Rams, he found a way downfield for the winning kick. If you get compared to a young Tommy Touchdown, you have to admit when you don’t equal the accomplishments.

So it’s on to next year. Before the 2023 campaign kicks off, Burrow will presumably receive an enormous contract extension, making the team’s ability to pay other critical members that much more difficult (though hardly impossible). The Bengals will lose some pieces this offseason, namely Jessie Bates and Germaine Pratt, but we knew that was coming. The core of Burrow, Chase, Higgins, DJ Reader, Logan Wilson, Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, Mike Hilton, Alex Cappa, Ted Karras, and Jonah Williams will be back, maybe along with Joe Mixon, Samaje Perine, and Hayden Hurst. I’m hoping Vonn Bell will be, too. Chido Awuzie should return from injury to team with Cam Taylor-Britt and form a solid corner combo. And, of course, there will be additions through the draft and free agency, hopefully matching the ones that have been so important in crafting this best two-year team in franchise history.

Zac Taylor returns as well, and barring a surprise development so will coordinators Lou Anarumo and Brian Callahan. The 2023 Bengals will unquestionably be a Super Bowl contender, perhaps even a favorite. Which is fantastic, of course.

But as the last two seasons have shown, unless you finish the drill, the bitter taste of unfulfilled dreams are all that remains. And that won’t ever go away, no matter what happens from here on out.

Robert Weintraub heads up Bengals coverage for Cincinnati Magazine and has written for The New York Times, Grantland, Slate, Deadspin, and Football Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter at @robwein.