The Bengals' loss to the Houston Texans was an all-around team effort

The Cincinnati Bengals’ 30-27 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday was full of moments like the wide receiver with the best hands on the team dropping the game-winning touchdown.

With 1:42 left in the game and the Bengals down by three points, quarterback Joe Burrow threw a strike on 3rd and goal to wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who was matched up against a linebacker. Boyd only dropped three passes last season. On Sunday, he had two drops, including this one in the fourth quarter.

The Bengals had to settle for a game-tying field goal. Then, the Texans marched 55 yards down the field. Texans kicker Matt Ammendola, who was a free agent one week ago, made a 38-yard field goal as the clock expired.

“(Boyd) is going to put a lot on himself because it was the end of the game,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “But there were so many opportunities that we had over the course of the game. Players and coaches, all of us, could have done a lot of things better so we weren’t in that position.”

There were no bright spots or silver linings in Sunday’s loss to the Texans at Paycor Stadium. Most of the time, it’s cliche when the head coach shifts the focus away from the game-defining play in the final minutes.

But on Sunday, the Bengals’ loss was a true team effort.

“We’ve got to step it up,” Burrow said. “We’ve got to be better. Today wasn’t good enough. It’s as simple as that.”

After the Texans took a 10-7 lead into halftime, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud picked the Bengals’ defense apart with deep throws on consecutive scoring drives. With the Texans up by 10 points, two interceptions from Burrow looked like they’d end a comeback bid.

Then with the Texans trying to run out the clock, Stroud threw an inexplicable interception to Cam Taylor-Britt, who took his return down to the Texans’ 40-yard line. The Bengals made it a 3-point game, got a stop and had the ball with a chance to win it.

Following Boyd’s drop, the Bengals only managed to tie the score at 27 with a field goal. Then, Stroud found two more easy completions down the field to set up the game-winning walk-off field goal.

Burrow called it one of his most frustrating losses with the Bengals. Now, the Bengals are 5-4. It’s the same record that they had through nine games last year, but it’ll be an even tougher road in a crowded AFC and a historically deep AFC North.

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“We need to execute better,” Bengals center Ted Karras said. “We came out with good energy and execution and took the lead to start the game. But they make adjustments too. That’s a good team. We can’t have a 30-minute stretch there where we don’t score any points.”

Burrow threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter, including one of the worst picks of his career. On 1st and 10 with the Bengals down by 10 points and inside of the red zone, Burrow forced a throw into triple coverage that went right to Texans cornerback Shaquill Griffin.

At one point, the Bengals went 36 minutes of game time without scoring a point. Right guard Alex Cappa got pancaked on two blocks, and right tackle Jonah Williams killed a potential touchdown drive with a holding penalty.

The run game was non-existent as Joe Mixon totaled 46 yards on just 11 carries.  Aside from Burrow’s deep touchdown throws to Ja’Marr Chase and Trenton Irwin, the offense had no rhythm.

“(Boyd) should not blame himself,” Karras said. “Everyone will take a look at themselves, watch the film and think about what they want to do better.”

Throughout the game, Burrow saw the Houston Texans double-teaming Chase, who was limited due to a back injury. Burrow turned to Boyd, who wasn’t creating separation against linebackers on a few key plays and struggled making defenders miss in space.

Burrow saw a rotation of backup receivers filling in for wide receiver Tee Higgins, who was out with a hamstring injury. He saw an offense that couldn’t run the ball and an offensive line that played its worst game in weeks and had Burrow on the move all game.

The Bengals missed Higgins’ ability to overpower undersized corners. Burrow had to get rid of the ball quickly, and he couldn’t find a receiver who was winning quickly in a one-on-one matchup.

Facing the 25th-best passing defense in the NFL, the Bengals got outplayed.

“You’ve got to be consistent and execute every week as an offense,” Chase said. “We’re limited sometimes doing that.”

On the other side, the rookie Stroud played better against the Bengals than any other quarterback has this season. He completed four 20-plus yard completions in the first half. The Bengals’ young secondary had looked like it worked through early-season communication issues, but those mistakes were back on Sunday.

When Stroud was able to buy time in the pocket, a receiver would inevitably get open. On one play, cornerback Taylor-Britt pointed to safety Dax Hill to pass off an assignment in zone coverage, but Hill didn’t pick it up and allowed a big reception down the field.

Those types of mistakes happened all game. Stroud would scramble outside of the pocket, and there would inevitably be an open receiver down the field. There were blown coverages, miscommunications, missed tackles and a critical defensive pass interference penalty by cornerback DJ Turner.

The Texans ran for 150 yards, and the Bengals’ defensive line didn’t have much of an impact limiting the running game or limiting Stroud.

“They played well, but we definitely didn’t play our best,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said. “Stroud got outside of the pocket a lot, and he wasn’t even looking to run. He was looking down the field for the deep ball. When you give those types of plays up, it’ll be hard to come back from.”

Stroud, who finished the game with 356 passing yards, got to be the hero instead of Burrow. In a tie game inside of the last two minutes, the Texans faced 3rd and 6 from the Texans’ 25-yard line. The Bengals bluffed a zero blitz and dropped defenders back in zone coverage, but the Bengals’ play call put cornerback Taylor-Britt against Texans tight end Dalton Schultz, who took advantage of a size advantage on a 25-yard catch.

Two plays later, the Bengals missed two tackles on a slant from Stroud to wide receiver Noah Brown that set up the game-winning field goal.

The Bengals have been one of the best teams in the NFL over the last few years because they never make the types of errors that they had on Sunday. The Texans caught the Bengals flat-footed. Now, heading into a short week and a road Thursday night game against the first-place Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati’s shot at a division title is slipping away.

“It’s tough, but we’ve got a big one on Thursday,” Hilton said. “We can right our wrong by going into Baltimore on Thursday night and coming out with a win. It’s definitely not going to be easy. Tough environment. But our backs are against the wall. What are we going to do?”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals drop NFL Week 10 game to Houston Texans