Are the Bengals going to beat Dolphins to 0-16?

The Cincinnati Bengals suffered another embarrassing defeat in Week 7, and it honestly looks like they have as good of a chance at going 0-16 as the tanking Miami Dolphins.

At this point, the Cincinnati Bengals are living a nightmare that they have no way out of. For years, Andy Dalton was criticized for being a mediocre quarterback who could never get the Bengals over their playoff hump, but, now, he’s playing worse than even his harshest critics could have predicted.

Dalton threw three more interceptions in the Bengals 27-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7, and the team remains winless. They are neck and neck with the Miami Dolphins in the race for the No. 1 pick, and it says something that the Dolphins are tanking with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback while the Bengals are not.

Trade rumors have circulated around A.J. Green, who did not play this week for the Bengals. But even if he did play, it probably wouldn’t have made any sort of difference. Cincinnati could not move the ball on the ground, as they averaged 2.0 yards per carry as a team. Star running back Joe Mixon could only muster two yards on 10 carries, which is hilariously inefficient.

But in all honesty, there’s nothing hilarious about this Bengals team. They are so awful that it’s sad, really. Cincinnati came into Week 7 ranked 31st in yards allowed, 29th in passing yards per attempt allowed, and 32nd in yards per carry allowed. So as well as being hopelessly awful on offense, they can’t even put up any sort of a fight against the opposition’s offense.

That was the story against Jacksonville. Whereas Mixon and the Bengals rushing attack could get nothing going, Leonard Fournette had no trouble trampling Cincinnati’s defense with 131 rushing yards. And Gardner Minshew hooked up with the likes of Dede Westbrook and Chris Conley for big plays, as the Jaguars pulled away from Cincy.

It’s alarming that the Bengals were outscored 18-7 in the fourth quarter. That shows little resiliency from the team, but it’s hard for a team to be resilient with an interception-machine like Dalton stagnating the offense.

Zac Taylor has led Cincinnati to an 0-7 start in his first season as a head coach, and the Bengals may have no choice but to embark on a fire sale at the trade deadline to tank next season. There is no hope left for these Bengals, other than to tank for the No. 1 pick next season and replace Dalton with someone who is actually a franchise quarterback. Now, it’s obvious that Dalton won’t cut it, but, of course, he’s far from the only player who needs to be upgraded next year.

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