Cincinnati Bengals’ coach Marvin Lewis wants his players to focus on Sunday
Playoff futility is probably an understatement when discussing the Cincinnati Bengals, who haven’t won a playoff game in 24 years.
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The Bengals go into the playoffs as the No. 5 seed, following a Week 17 loss to the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. With a chance to pick up their first playoff victory in over two decades Sunday when they face the Indianapolis Colts, head coach Marvin Lewis wants them focusing on the game and not questions about the team’s playoff past.
“I told them not to answer your questions, and just tell you, ‘that’s not me.’ It’s got nothing to do with them. You know what I mean? There you go. That team, last year’s team, it’s a different team, different people, different circumstances, so what we have to do in order to win games is not turn the ball over and you have to play good on defense. It’s pretty simple,” Lewis said to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“Well, I’m just tired of answering the dumb question, you know? All right? Excuse me, not a dumb question — I’m tired of answering the very important question that I know is going to be asked time and time again.”
The Bengals, even if ignoring questions about their past, have a tall task ahead of them.
They are traveling to Indianapolis for a second time this year and the first time didn’t go so well. Back on October 19, the Colts throttled the Bengals 27-0. The day was a nightmare offensively and defensively for Cincinnati as they only gained 135 yards to Indianapolis’s 506.
With another playoff game looming, another opportunity presents itself for quarterback Andy Dalton. Dalton has led the Bengals to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons. However, questions remain if Dalton can be the one to lead this team after three straight first round exits and a plethora of losses on the national stage.
Most of these Bengals weren’t on those teams that had playoff futility in the past. Some weren’t even alive when the Bengals last won a playoff game. For the fourth year in a row, the Bengals have the opportunity to re-write their history and put the focus in a positive light.
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