It’s absolutely stunning and amazing how quickly things change in the NFL.It seems like only yesterday the Bengals were 2-1 and poised to be 4-1 at the bye after games against Cleveland and Tampa Bay.Yet here they are 2-7 and losers of six straight by a combined 33 points, and the bad news just keeps on coming for the men in stripes who host the feisty Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Nov. 21.The Bengals suffered a series of major setbacks when head coach Marvin Lewis announced Monday that kicker Mike Nugent (knee) and nickel cornerback Morgan Trent (knee) have been placed on the Injured Reserve list, and right offensive tackle Andre Smith will have surgery on the left foot he re-fractured in practice last week.
GROWING PAINS FOR GRESHAM
Five turnovers doom Bengals at Indy, 23-17
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer pours heaping amounts of praise on rookie first-round draft pick Jermaine Gresham.
“There’s nothing any tight end in this league does that he can’t potentially do,” Palmer said prior to Sunday’s 23-17 loss at Indianapolis. “Not that he’s mastered everything. But I don’t see a weakness.
“If he had to play in Pittsburgh’s offense and block a guy every single time and run little quick seam routes, out routes, he could do that. If he played in Denver’s offense and got to run a lot of routes, he could do that.”
Bengals Colts Scoring Summary
COLTS 23, BENGALS 17
Bengals 0-10-0-7 — 17
Colts 10-10-0-3 — 23
FIRST QUARTER
Colts — Vinatieri 28 FG. Drive: 14 plays, 82 yards (6:25). Colts 3, Bengals 0.
Colts — Hayden, 31 interception return (Vinatieri kick). Reed 25 FG. Drive: 6 plays, 23 yards (2:17). Colts 10, Bengals 0.
PUGILISTIC PIGSKIN PREVIEW: BENGALS AT COLTS
HOW I SEE IT
Feel free to call the Cincinnati Bengals “Paper Tigers.”
They look good on paper with quarterback Carson Palmer, tailback Cedric Benson and wide receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. But they’re inconsistent in all three phases, and skilled in self-destruction.
The offense’s inability to sustain drives — largely due to penalties and turnovers — puts too much pressure on a defense that struggles to rush the quarterback.
