It Took 13 Weeks, But the Reality of Futility Has Finally Forced Its Way Into the Cincinnati Bengals Locker Room

Jay Morrison | Dec 1, 2024

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton gives up a touchdown to the Pittsburgh Steelers' Calvin Austin during Sunday's 44-38 loss at Paycor Stadium. / Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – It was a soul-searching, reality-checking, tongue-biting scene in the Cincinnati Bengals locker room Sunday afternoon following another tackle-missing, error-making, record-breaking loss.

The Bengals became the first team in NFL history to lose four games in a season despite scoring at least 33 points after face-planting their way to a 44-38 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers and one of the most pedestrian offenses in the league.

The Bengals fell to 4-8, three games behind the team currently occupying the seventh and final playoff seed – the Denver Broncos – with five games remaining.

There officially is no longer “a lot of football left to be played,” and the weight of that reality was evident every time a player stood in front of cameras and microphones to talk about the latest failure in a season teeming with them.

“Playoffs are the furthest thing from my mind,” quarterback Joe Burrow said.

“We can't be mad at anybody else but ourselves,” cornerback Mike Hilton added. “We put ourselves in this hell, in this hole.”

When asked what’s left to play for?

“Pride,” linebacker Germaine Pratt said. “You've got to keep on fighting. This game is high and low. It's like life. You keep on getting knocked down, and you've got to get back up. Keep on working.”

When Ja’Marr Chase was asked if there is still something left to play for, he said, “I don’t know. I’m just playing with the guys, making memories.”

The Cincinnati offense turned the ball over three times, and the defense found the end zone for the first time in 24 games when cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt opened the scoring with a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown.

But this loss, as is the case with so many others this season, falls squarely on the defense, as was the case in the other games in which the Bengals scored 33 and still lost.

Week 3: Commanders 38, Bengals 33

Week 5: Ravens 41, Bengals 38, OT

Week 10: Ravens 35, Bengals 34

Only three other teams in NFL history have lost three games in a season despite scoring 33 points – the 1985 San Diego Chargers, the 2002 Kansas City Chiefs and the 2017 Houston Texans.

Sunday marked the fifth time in franchise history the Bengals have allowed at least 44 points and at least 520 yards in a game.

And just the second time at home.

Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo lamented the 14 missed tackles his group had in the season-opening loss against the New England Patriots, saying it was the most in his tenure in Cincinnati, which began in 2019.

Don’t be surprised if the rewatch of the film results in a number higher than 14.

When asked if he was surprised by how badly the defense struggled, Chase glanced to that area of the locker room, paused, and then said, “I don’t know. They need to find a way. We need to find a way.”

Burrow admitted the opposing defenses aren’t the only ones putting pressure on him.

“I feel the pressure on me to be great,” he said. “That's part of playing quarterback in the NFL. I just have to play to the absolute peak of my ability every week for us to go and win. Some games I've done that. Some games I haven't.”

Is that a sustainable way to play football?

“I feel like I can do anything,” he said.

But rallying from a 4-8 hole to make the playoffs is probably something Burrow’s not even capable of achieving.

The weight of that reality hung in the air after the game.

“We’re sitting here again saying ‘We just didn’t do enough to win the game,’” center Ted Karras said.

“It's sh—ty,” Hilton added. “We're took good of a team to be where we're at.”

“It’s nobody else’s fault but our own,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said.

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