The Cincinnati Bengals had an extra week to self-study and fine-tune. It did no good.
Instead of looking refreshed after their bye week, Cincinnati’s offense looked rusty in a 14-13 loss to previously winless Tampa Bay on Sunday.
With a brutal upcoming stretch in the schedule — Carolina, Atlanta, Baltimore, San Diego and surprising New Orleans — the Bengals might look back at the loss to the Buccaneers as more than a minor misstep.
Yesterday brought more bad news. Coach Marvin Lewis said offensive left tackle Levi Jones would probably require arthroscopic surgery and miss at least the Panthers game. Lewis said receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) also would miss that game. With Chris Henry (suspended) and Tab Perry (hip) out, that will leave only three experienced receivers.
Suddenly, a season that began with three wins might be at the crossroads, and the offense is the surprising reason.
The Team 
