Expectations shift for Cincinnati Bengals’ season after blowout loss to Tennessee Titans

NASHVILLE –– When Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor brought on the field goal team on 4th and goal from the Tennessee Titans’ 3-yard line, he thought he knew how this game was going to go.

The Bengals took the points on their first possession of the game because their defense was supposed to be able to keep them in a low-scoring game. They settled for the field goal because they believed quarterback Joe Burrow would be alright and the offense would get plenty more chances to score.

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It turned out that Taylor and the Bengals’ expectations, both for the Week 4 game at Nissan Stadium and for the entire first month of the season, couldn’t have been more wrong.

The Titans beat the Bengals, 27-3, at Nissan Stadium as the Bengals fell to 1-3 on the season. Tennessee has one of the worst offenses in the NFL, but the Titans still took a 21-point lead into halftime. The Bengals should have one of the best offenses in the NFL. On Sunday, they weren’t even able to pick up a blitz.

"Whenever you’re 1-3, you’re going to be frustrated," Burrow said. "You’re going to be angry. You’re going to be wanting to win games. We haven’t been. We’re not going to let that come between us. That’s how you end up having a bad season. We’ve had a bad start. We’ve had a bad first quarter."

The Bengals look nothing like the contender that they were supposed to be.

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What are the Bengals even good at through four games this season?Burrow, who completed 20 of 30 passes for 165 yards in one of the worst statistical games of his career, is physically limited due to a calf injury. He still isn’t moving comfortably around the pocket or scrambling. Burrow’s deep throws haven’t been accurate, and he struggled diagnosing the Titans’ blitzes before the snap on Sunday.

The Bengals were supposed to have an elite wide receiving core, but that hasn’t translated. Tyler Boyd didn’t run fast enough to reel in a deep throw from Burrow. Tee Higgins has had two-or-fewer catches in three of his four games this year, and he left Sunday’s game with a rib injury.

"We have to find answers," Boyd said. "We have to find ways to get the matchups. We’ve got guys who can win one-on-one. The whole offense has to be tight. We’ve got to pass block right, catch footballs on the outside. We’ve got to find a rhythm and keep going. We know what teams are going to do against us on third downs. It’s obvious. We just have to capitalize."

The Bengals’ running game kept getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage by the Titans’ defense. When Burrow tried to take aggressive shots down the field, he got tossed around as the Bengals’ offensive line allowed pressure.

On one play, Titans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair ran a straight line at Burrow, pummeled him into the ground and nearly forced a fumble. On another, linebacker Trevis Gipson forced the ball loose and jumped on top of the Bengals’ quarterback.

With the Bengals down by 24 points in the middle of the fourth quarter, Taylor probably should have pulled a banged-up Burrow from the game. Instead, Burrow took his eighth and ninth hits of the game with two sacks in the final seven minutes of the game.

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"We pride ourselves on being the best offense on the field," Boyd said. "We have yet to show it."

The downfall started Sunday when the Bengals kicked the field goal from the Titans’ 3-yard line to cap off the opening drive. The Bengals opted to take the ball when they won the coin toss as an aggressive move to try to play with the lead. They had a chance to jump out to a 7-0 lead on that 4th down play.

When they drove 72 yards down the field and settled for 3 points to open the game, the Bengals miscalculated how this game was going to go. Over their next seven drives, the offense totaled just 84 yards without scoring a point.

"It was a good first drive," Burrow said. "We weren’t able to punch it in the end zone. That’s how the rest of the day went."

It’s been a season full of miscalculations for the Bengals, who sit in last place in the AFC North.

"We’re not going to sit back and say Joe’s not 100 (percent) so we only put up three points," Bengals center Ted Karras said. "That’s not how we’re going to roll this year. We need to find a way to make some plays."

On Sunday, the Bengals’ defense was just as bad as its offense.

Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt got burned at the line of scrimmage and allowed two deep throws over the top. The middle of the Bengals’ defense allowed Ryan Tannehill, who had been in danger of being benched, to pick them apart over the middle of the field. The Titans have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, and the Bengals’ defensive line wasn’t generating much of a pass rush.

Titans running back Derrick Henry finished the game with 122 yards on 5.5 yards per carry. In the second quarter, he rumbled all the way through the Bengals’ defense on a 29-yard touchdown run that featured at least three broken tackles. And the Bengals’ defense committed senseless penalties that kept the unit on the field.

"Not the performance we wanted," safety Nick Scott said. "A lot of the things we suffered from today were self-inflicted. It wasn’t up to our standard. In every area, we had plays we wish we could get back, whether it be penalties, bad eyes or anything like that."

On special teams, punter Brad Robbins had a bad punt, and Tycen Anderson committed a penalty. Backup punt returner Trenton Irwin, filling in for the injured Charlie Jones, fumbled on a return.

The Bengals brought back the core of last year’s team, which was one of the best in football. With a 1-3 record, the 2023 Bengals at this point are just hoping to get hot in the second half and sneak into the playoffs.

Expectations for the entire season have shifted, and the issues start with the franchise quarterback.

"Nothing was really clicking today," said Burrow, who had the fourth-fewest passing yards in a game across his NFL career.

At a few points on Sunday, Burrow was bending his elbow and testing it out. Burrow’s calf injury has already zapped him of some of his magic, and the most accurate quarterback in NFL history hasn’t been anywhere near as accurate with his passes this season. Burrow didn’t complete a single deep pass, and he isn’t able to extend plays to create more opportunities for big plays.

The Bengals don’t look close to finding any concrete solutions with their passing game. They were supposed to have one of the best rosters in the NFL this year, but the season looks like it’s starting to spiral.

"There’s a long season ahead still, but we don’t have many disregards left," Karras said. "We can’t just say, ‘forget about that one.’ We need to come out and get (wins)."

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals suffer blowout loss to Tennessee Titans | Recap