The Bengals’ defense was atrocious on Sunday. Allowing an inept Jets offense to score 39 points en route to their first win of the season. Let’s take a look back at what all went wrong throughout the game.
Early on, it felt like the Bengals defense might be on track for a get-right type of game against the hapless 0-7 New York Jets. Cam Taylor-Britt went from inactive to starting. He came out aggressively against the run.
The Bengals even recorded a fourth-down stop to get the ball back to the offense on the Jets’ first possession. Barrett Carter made the tackle after Taylor-Britt and Dax Hill sealed the edge.
On the Jets’ second possession, there were warning signs of what was to come against the run. The Bengals continue to be the worst tackling team in the league. The linebackers and secondary players are the biggest issues with that. Demetrius Knight Jr. was almost part of giving up the first big one on the day here.
The Bengals were able to end up forcing a punt on this possession. Barrett Carter made another good stop on the screen play. With a 10-0 lead and the ball back, things were looking good for notching a second straight victory with Joe Flacco at quarterback.
The Bengals were unable to add any more points on their next possession. Meanwhile, the Jets’ offense started to get some life. Former Bengal Isaiah Williams was getting in on the action in the passing game, as a returner, and here on a reverse. Knight was late to react, along with Joseph Ossai, not containing the edge on this play.
After a Jets field goal, the Bengals hit Tee Higgins for a 44-yard touchdown to push the lead to 17-3. The Bengals could have kept that 17-3 lead with another fourth-down stop near the goal-line. However, Jordan Battle slowed up on Justin Fields when coming on a blitz. Fields gets the pass off, leading to a touchdown. This felt like a big turning point when watching the game back.
Throughout the day, there were way too many missed assignments in the secondary. The lack of communication on the back end has continued to be a problem this year. One hope was that Al Golden would clean this stuff up,but that has not been the case.
For some of the good stuff Barrett Carter did in the first half, it completely fell apart for him in the second. Here, he misses a tackle in the hole, leading to a huge run by Isaiah Davis. Jordan Battle was hesitant here once again when coming up in run support.
The Bengals were able to hold the Jets to a field goal on that drive. Cam Taylor-Britt came on a blitz. This time, there was no hesitation from a Bengals secondary player; he disrupted the play. The Bengals maintain a 24-16 lead still during the third quarter.
Later in the game, the run defense continues to give up chunk plays. Demetrius Knight Jr. is playing on the line fairly often, but it never seems to net any positive results. Shemar Stewart was pretty non-existent once again. Here, both guys are blocked out of the play. Jordan Battle hesitates to make the play yet again, leading to another big run by the Jets offense.
Shortly after that, Breece Hall goes untouched into the end zone for another touchdown. The Jets were then able to tack on the two-point conversion because no one can finish a play. Demetrius Knight Jr. takes a poor angle to the quarterback along with it. The Bengals’ lead shrinks down to 31-24 at this point.
The Bengals offense was able to push the lead back to 38-24. The defense had a chance to get a fourth-down stop. If they did, they could pretty much start the process of running out the clock and improving to .500 on the season. That obviously was not what happened next. The Jets convert the fourth down, then allow just a comically bad touchdown to Breece Hall. Shemar Stewart doesn’t keep contain; the rest of the defense thinks they are playing flag football.
The Jets were able to add on a two-point conversion that shrunk the lead down to 38-32. It was initially called incomplete on the field. After the review, they called the catch complete. They ruled that he crossed the goal line. I am still not sure it ever did. That ended up being a back-breaking call against the Bengals. To be fair, they should never have been in that position in the first place.
The Bengals’ offense went three-and-out on the next possession. The very first play, the Jets hit a big chunk play on a pass. There was no pressure on Fields once again. Dax Hill gets turned around on the play. The Jets were able to take the lead shortly after.
Breece Hall completing a touchdown pass for the Jets to take a 39-38 lead is the type of unbelievable stuff that this defense continues to allow to happen week after week. When the Bengals miss the playoffs for a third straight season, this defensive performance is going to be high on the list of reasons why.
