Cowboys 31 Bengals 22-No Moral Victories

I am usually as critical as anyone when it comes to the Bengals, but I was actually excited at several times Sunday, and I believe this team has the potential to have a winning record over its final 11 games. Now, I don't think they will catch fire, but a 6-5 finish is possible if they can play the way they did Sunday. Ultimately, this team needs to eliminate pivotal mistakes and find a way to win games in the fourth quarter. The loss to Dallas was just another example of a game that was winnable and that winning teams find a way to get the job done.

• Last week I said that Marvin Lewis is done in Cincinnati. Well, even though things are not going well, this team is playing hard, and it is up to Lewis to find a way to get them to play 60 minutes of focused football. They are constantly beaten by big plays on defense, and the offense is still way too inconsistent. Sunday was another example of this. Felix Jones ran for a 33 yard touchdown on 4th and 3, and Terrell Owens caught a 57 yard touchdown pass following a Chris Perry fumble. These two plays are heart breaking for a team to give up, especially when it appeared that the momentum had shifted. With the score 17-16 Dallas, Lewis called an on-side kick which caught the Cowboys off guard, and Rashad Jeanty recovered. Momentum was clearly in the Bengals favor, and it looked like they were about to go down and take the lead. Perry's fumble changed all of that, and Owens' touchdown reversed things completely. These are the types of game changing moments that kill the Bengals week after week, and they need to find a way to create those types of plays for their side. Whether its a TJ Houshmandzadeh holding penalty which negated a Perry touchdown, or a too many men in the huddle penalty, or a TJ false start, these little mistakes kill the Bengals all the time. These are things that should be easily correctable, and that is why is it so disconcerting that the Bengals never seem to be able to fix them. Until they do, this team will continue to lose games they should win.
• Chris Perry needs to be benched. There is no debate on this subject. He had only 31 yards on 13 carries, and he fumbled the ball for the fifth time in five games. Perry's lack of ball security is especially crippling given the funk the offense has been in this season. This team cannot afford costly turnovers that eliminate drives and give the opposition great field position. I am not ready to give up on Perry altogether, but he needs to be relegated to third down duties until he proves that he can be trusted with the football on a regular basis. This means that the process of familiarizing Cedric Benson with the playbook needs to be accelerated to give the Bengals another option for an every down back. Benson looked very good in his Cincinnati debut. He wound up with only 30 yards on 10 carries, but he was decisive, ran hard, and punished tacklers at the end of his runs. He looks like he can be the inside runner the Bengals need and would also allow them to use Perry as more of a receiving back and outside runner.
  
• NEWS FLASH: Eric Ghiacuci sucks. He is the major reason this team struggles running the football, as he consistently gets knocked into the backfield. A perfect example came when the Bengals were inside their own five. Ghiacuic was blown out of the way on a running play, leading to a tackle in the backfield, and he was again blown back on third down when the Bengals were running a wide receiver screen. Luckily Palmer was able to get rid of the ball in time, but this team cannot afford to have its center knocked three yards in the backfield on every play. It is time for the Bengals to look at other options at the position, and they must address it in the off season, which they should have done last year.
• For the past few years, the offense has been exciting to watch while the defense had me cussing and throwing things. This year is different. The defense is still not good, but the young players are playing very well and showing flashes that give reason for hope. Keith Rivers only accounted for three tackles, but he forced a fumble and had a very athletic interception on a play that few linebackers in this league could make. He has a presence about him that just oozes of confidence, and he could become the leader this defense has desperately needed for years to come. Marvin White and Chinedum Ndukwe flew around the field all day Sunday, and their athleticism and physicality provide a much needed boost to the defense. They still make some silly mistakes, but they are constantly going at 100 MPH which is a refreshing thing to watch. It certainly eliminates the need for Dexter Jackson, who is too old and too slow, to play a majority of snaps. Leon Hall might be one of the best tackling corners in the league. He again showed his willingness to help out on run defense, and his coverage skills seem to get better every week. With Hall and Jonathan Joseph, the Bengals corner position should be set for awhile. With all of these youngsters making plays, it is time to see what Pat Sims and Jason Shirley can do on the defensive line. They are both rookies, but there is no way that can provide less to the defense than what John Thornton is currently providing. Thornton is outmatched and has been since he arrived here. He is not a part of this team's future, and the time has come to go with a defensive tackle rotation of Peko, Sims, and Shirley. Frostee Rucker is showing people why the Bengals used a third round pick on him a few years back. Finally healthy, Rucker is making plays on the defensive front, and his chase down and strip of Tony Romo on Sunday is the type of play this defense needs more of.
  
• The Bengals offense showed flashes on Sunday, but they are still shooting themselves in the foot too often. Costly penalties and turnovers doom this team, especially when they have to rely on long drives because of the lack of big plays. I don't know what the problem is, but this team is unable to throw the ball deep. A more efficient running game would certainly help, and the return of Chris Henry gives Palmer a legitimate deep threat. They need to find a way to get the safeties to load up in the box, otherwise teams will continue to roll their safeties back into coverage, essentially eliminating the deep ball. Free agent acquisition Ben Utecht also needs to step up his play. The interception on the first play from scrimmage was thrown his way, and it looked like he either did not get his head around in time, or he just did not see the ball. Either way, he needs to make more plays in the middle of the field for this offense to be successful. The two point conversion play when it was 24-22 was also a head scratcher. It was a fade to Utecht who had single coverage on the outside with TJ and Chad lined up on the other side. A fade pass is not a high percentage play anyway, and throwing one to a tight end that cannot go up and get it makes even less sense.
  

Much like the Giants game, this game showed that the Bengals have enough talent to compete with the best in the league. They are not as good as those teams, but they have what it takes to make it a game. If they can find a way to eliminate the turnovers and penalties, they will be able to win these types of games. It is a work in progress, and it is time to let the rest of the young players go at it so they can evaluate them and prepare for 2009. It is never a good thing to be looking to next season in the beginning of October, but I actually believe that this team could be a contender next year with a few tweaks to the roster. It is also important to get the young players experience, or we will be seeing more rookie mistakes next season, and the same results we are seeing this season.