Cincinnati Bengals vs. Oakland Raiders Recap

Coming off a satisfying win in Pittsburgh that seemingly gave the AFC North to Cincinnati, yesterday’s contest against Oakland was regarded as an afterthought. Unfortunately for the Bengals, games are decided on the field and not on paper, as missed opportunities and timely turnovers led to a long flight back to the Queen City. All week, coaches and players preached about fighting against the temptation of lowering their play to that of their opponent, yet did not adhere to their own advice.

This fiasco could be written off as an aberration to a mostly successful 2009 season. As witnessed in Kansas City, any team can pose a threat. (Note: Although the phrase “On any given Sunday…” could be applied in that past sentence, I refuse to utilize the idiom, strictly because that expression brings up horrid memories of the Al Pacino-flick baring the same name.) Seven wins after ten games is a decent start, and Cincinnati is still atop the division. However, upon further review, Sunday’s loss revealed more chinks in the armor than previously realized. It no particular order…

- 0, 14, 0, 12, 3. Dating back to Week 6, that’s the offensive production in the 2 nd half. In that span, only two TDs have been put on the board, both coming in the slaughter against Chicago. These statistics illustrate that teams are making the proper halftime adjustments to Cincinnati. Worse, Bob Bratkowski has no counter answers to these corrections. Maybe proclaiming Bratkowski as a genius was a little premature, no?

- Sticking with coaching, why the hell was Andre Caldwell in to return the kickoff after the Raiders tied the game? Bernard Scott was the reigning Special Teams Player of the Week after his performance against Pittsburgh. The argument for Scott being on the sideline was to ensure he’d be fresh for the final drive, which makes sense until you realize: 1) The offense would be in passing mode, meaning Brian Leonard would be in the backfield and 2) If the team is going for an air assault, wouldn’t Caldwell be the more likely candidate to contribute? Disregarding the fumble, Scott was the best option to give the team its best field position. Caldwell has been an asset to the team, but not in this role, and had no business returning the kick.

> Find Cincinnati Bengals hats & Merchandise online through Pro Football Fans for all your team gear!

- Injuries are taking their toll. Sure, this is a league-wide dilemma, but the secondary is battered to the point where Morgan Trent and Tom Nelson played significant minutes on Sunday, with Trent allowing the game-tying touchdown. A sign of a good team is its ability to overcome the loss of starters and move forward (think of the Patriots when WR Troy Brown had to fill in as a corner). Trent and Nelson are both rookies, so a learning curve needs to be permitted. However, if this team wants to go deep in January, backups are going to have to raise their level of contribution.

On the bright side, the running game remained effective in the absence of Cedric Benson, gaining 177 yards on 43 carries. Scott led the way with 119 yards on just 21 touches. When Benson returns, one wonders if Scott’s performance gives the team freedom to release Larry Johnson. Although Marvin Lewis argued that the signing of LJ was not in response to Benson going down, it would be hard to justify Johnson’s roster spot with a healthy Benson aboard, especially with all the injuries on the defensive side. And while the team has a past in dealing with players amid in off-the-field problems, that’s no reason to validate bringing in a possible problem.

Next up for Cincinnati are the hapless Browns, coming in at 1-9 and more dysfunctional than a season of the Surreal Life. On paper, this looks like a good game to right the ship for the Bengals. But as the trip out to Oakland just established, there’s no such thing as an easy win in the NFL.

By: Joel Beall
ProFootball-fans.com Cincinnati Bengals Correspondent