No Tee Higgins vs Chiefs? The Cincinnati Bengals Panic Meter | Off the Bench 09-10-24

Watch Off the Bench Presented by UDF with Chatterbox Sports Monday-Friday 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. LIVE on the Chatterbox Sports YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE to the channel to ensure you never miss a thing. Article Written by Jason Williams Cincinnati Enquirer Everyone came happily wearing orange to Paycor Stadium. They left with red faces. They had every right to be spitting angry after the Bengals’ 16-10 loss to the lowly New England Patriots, especially at Bengals coach Zac Taylor. Players say Taylor ran a tougher training camp to try to reverse the Bengals' history of slow starts during his tenure. But it's the same ol', same ol' season-opening narrative: The Bengals flat out weren’t prepared to play. They were hardly competitive. They were uninspired and stunk in every facet of the game. There’s no excuse for this one, and certainly plenty of things to be alarmed about as the Bengals prepare to head to Kansas City to face the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs. The Bengals opened at home in front of a sold-out crowd, which answered the call to blanket the stadium in orange clothing. The weather was picture-perfect, unlike last year’s season-opening debacle in rainy Cleveland. And the Bengals didn’t have to open against an AFC North rival like they did the past two seasons. They were given the gift of playing what’s widely projected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season – and they missed the layup. Remember this one come December, when the playoff race is in full go mode. Will it come back to cost the Bengals a playoff spot? Or will it ultimately hurt their playoff seeding? Cincinnati faces the likelihood of starting 0-2 for the third consecutive year, and for fifth time in Taylor’s six seasons. Suddenly, an opening-month schedule that looked mostly easy – except the trip to Arrowhead – doesn't look so soft anymore. You could argue that last season’s 0-2 start came back to cost the Bengals a playoff spot. Had they won at least one of the first two games, they likely would’ve made the postseason – even with quarterback Joe Burrow sidelined for the final 1½ months of the 2023 season. Burrow says he's healthy now, but his injury history is a big reason not to simply blow off this season-opening loss. The margin for error is razor thin for a franchise that’s built everything around the man who wears jersey No. 9. The downfield passing attack that Burrow and the offense is known for was nonexistent. Even still, Burrow & Co. had a chance to drive the field for a winning touchdown when the Bengals got the ball back with 3:04 left in the fourth quarter. But they gained all of five yards on the possession and had to punt. Receiver Ja'Marr Chase called it the most frustrating possession of the game.