Bengals plight, NFL power rankings and Patriots get right
In his 16th season with the Cincinnati Bengals, it’s clear Marvin Lewis has run his course. It’s time to blow up the team and start over.
Everything in life comes to an end. Sometimes end abruptly, while others last a lifetime. Ultimately, though, everything becomes history.
Such should be the case with the marriage between the Cincinnati Bengals and head coach Marvin Lewis. Lewis, who took over a miserable mess of a franchise in 2003, deserves immense credit for guiding the Bengals out of the darkness. Before his arrival, Cincinnati hadn’t had a winning season since 1990. The Bengals had rifled through four head coaches over that span. On NFL Primetime, ESPN host Chris Berman affectionately and accurately dubbed them the Bungles.
Still, the time for Lewis to run the show in the Queen City has run out.
Cincinnati has reached the playoffs on seven occasions under Lewis. Each time, the Bengals went out with a whimper, losing in the Wild Card round. More now than ever before during his tenure, the Bengals look far removed from any real contention. The roster is rife with holes, while the quarterback seems to have hit his ceiling.
Through two games this year, Cincinnati has an argument for most disappointing team in the league. The Bengals are yet to score a touchdown while Andy Dalton has thrown five interceptions. Lewis made a rare panic move, firing offensive coordinator Ken Zampese after a 13-9 loss on Thursday night to the Houston Texans. Bill Lazur takes over the reins, and his first test will be next Sunday at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers.
It’s hard to justify keeping this group together. Lewis is in a lame duck year for the first time in his career, while the Bengals can get out of Dalton’s contract with minimal dead money. If owner/general manager Mike Brown was so inclined to do so, he could blow up the roster and start new.
In terms of timing, Cincinnati might never have a better opportunity. The Baltimore Ravens are old and the Pittsburgh Steelers are going year-to-year with an aging Ben Roethlisberger. Despite his never-diminishing talents, Tom Brady is 40 years old.
In short, the Bengals are winning anything right now, but should they finally realize their situation and start rebuilding, there could be hope when the AFC is in a quasi-rebuilding phase. The quarterback crop coming into next year’s draft is terrific, including Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold and Lamar Jackson. The Bengals could take a first-round signal-caller for the first time since Carson Palmer back in 2003, giving the fanbase and roster some long-term hope.
And now we find ourselves back to Lewis. Having 15 full seasons at the helm is almost unheard of in the NFL. In fact, only Bill Belichick currently has a longer tenure. Lewis has been giving more than a fair chance to finally prove his worth, and that favor hasn’t been repaid. The Bengals are moving backwards instead of forward, with an average team and an average quarterback.
In professional sports, hell is a much better place to be than purgatory. Cincinnati has been the latter’s mayor for the better part of the last decade.
Everything comes to an end in this world. For Lewis and the Bengals, it’s time to make the proper arrangements and move on from one another.
Power rankings
Top 10 teams that didn’t reach 2016 playoffs
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. Denver Broncos
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. Minnesota Vikings
6. Tennessee Titans
7. Carolina Panthers
8. Washington Redskins
9. Los Angeles Rams
10. Los Angeles Chargers
Quotable
"“I don’t think anybody … without even seeing the tape yet that you can pin that on the quarterback. Like I said earlier, everybody had their hand in that.”"
– Bears head coach John Fox, when asked if he would insert Mitchell Trubisky in Week 3
Fox is both accurate and insane with this comment. On one hand, starting quarterback Mike Glennon threw two interceptions and lost a fumble — all in the first half. He looked miserable, ans while the final line shows 301 passing yards, Glennon was terrible.
On the flip side, the Bears rushed for 20 yards on 16 carries. Nobody can win with a lack of support to that magnitude. Chicago also plays the Pittsburgh Steelers next week, which isn’t the opener you want for a rookie quarterback.
Podcast
Make sure to subscribe on iTunes to Stacking The Box for new episodes every Monday afternoon. Today, we record our Week 3 insights. Don’t miss it!
If you want to kill some time and get an idea of what we bring to the table, check out our Week 2 episode below!
Random stat
On Sunday, DeShone Kizer and Tyrod Taylor combined to throw for 309 yards. Tom Brady threw for 306 yards in the first half.
Info learned this week
1. Patriots back on track
Don’t ever, ever, doubt the New England Patriots. After giving up 42 points and 537 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs in an ugly 42-27 season-opening loss, Bill Belichick’s group responded. Tom Brady threw for 447 yards along with three touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints, including a 51-yard score from Rob Gronkowski.
New England was dominant in its 36-20 win, racking up 555 yards. The defense still had its woes, giving up 429 yards including 356 yards from Drew Brees. That said, the Patriots were in control throughout, and now head home to take on the Houston Texans.
For New England, the next three months are about staying healthy and getting ready for the playoffs. The AFC East is a foregone conclusion, and the Patriots, as always, will be ready and waiting for all comers in January.
2. Blake Bortles has to go
This wasn’t actually learned this week, but more reaffirmed. The Jaguars have a terrific defense and Leonard Fournette can play. If Jacksonville had a quarterback, we would be talking about it as a real contender in the AFC South. Instead, the Jaguars are fighting with the Colts for third place.
The Titans don’t have a notable defense, and yet they still forced Bortles to go 20-of-34 for 223 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. If you saw the game, you udnerstand that only garbage time makes that line even respectable. Bortles was awful throughout.
Doug Marrone doesn’t have any great option on that roster, but it’s time to go with Chad Henne.
3. Seahawks’ offense have real problems
The Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, but that shouldn’t mask the stink coming out of the Emerald City. While the defense might be the league’s best, the offense has amassed exactly one touchdown in two games, and the line is likely to get Russell Wilson maimed before November.
Seattle ran for a ghastly 3.5 yards per carry while Wilson averaged only 5.1 yards per attempt against a poor San Francisco secondary. The Seahawks are clearly the best team in the NFC West, and so they’ll make the playoffs. Yet if the offense continues to play at this level, that trip will be short-lived.
4. Falcons stitch clown suit on Packers
The Atlanta Falcons opened up their new stadium in grand fashion on Sunday night, winning 34-23 in a performance more dominant than the score. Atlanta racked up a healthy 141 rushing yards while Matt Ryan threw for 252 yards on 9.0 yards per attempt. Most impressively, the defense was terrific until garbage time, harassing Aaron Rodgers and choking off the run game.
Through two weeks, the Falcons are the NFC’s most impressive team. They have no discernible weaknesses, certainly in stark contrast to the Packers and Seahawks. Atlanta doesn’t get the credit it deserves as a great team, perhaps because of the Super Bowl meltdown, but the Falcons remain a force to be reckoned with.
5. Giants, Lions face pivotal early-season game
New York was thought of as one of the Super Bowl contenders in the NFC headed into the season. Then, the Giants got thrashed 19-3 on opening night by the Cowboys, and people began jumping off the bandwagon as though it were ablaze.
On Monday night, New York needs to get in the win column against a tough Lions team that has respect on its mind. Detroit reached the postseason last year but was universally picked to be a sub-.500 team in 2017. After trouncing the Arizona Cardinals last week, can Detroit make it stick with another impressive victory?
It’s only Week 2, but this game could have serious implications down the line.
History lesson
On Sunday, the NFL had two games being hosted by Los Angeles. It was the first time that happened since Christmas Eve 1994, when the Raiders welcomed the Chiefs into the L.A. Coliseum, while the Rams and Redskins did battle in Anaheim.
On that day, Joe Montana won his last game, beating the Raiders to earn a wild card berth for Kansas City.
Parting shot
The Dallas Cowboys will go as Ezekiel Elliott goes. On Sunday, Elliott carried nine times for eight yards in a 42-17 loss at Denver, putting the Cowboys at 1-1 for the season. Without a quality rushing game, the offense completely fell apart, with Dak Prescott throwing 50 times for a measly 238 yards with a pair of interceptions.
Prescott is a terrific young talent, but he plays in an offense built to work off the run. Without it, the second-year man struggles, something we saw in his defeat last season against the New York Giants later in the year.
None of this is to knock Prescott. Almost any team would love to have him, both for his leadership and considerable on-field talent. Still, he can’t do it by himself — how many can? — and at times in Dallas, he has to if Elliott isn’t going well.
The Cowboys are in a tough division, in a competitive conference. If the defense, and Elliott, aren’t consistent, it’s a problem that may not be overcome despite Prescott’s presence.