Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - BENGALS SQUAD SHOW: Zac Taylor's offenese goes STAGNANT in loss to Patriots, Bengals FALL TO 3-8

Episode Date: November 24, 2025

Zac Taylor, once again, mismanged crucial in-game situations as the Bengals fell to the New England Patriots 26-20 on Sunday at Paycor Stadium. Alex Frank, Mike Santagata, and Art Valero discuss how much increased pressure there is on Taylor after another head-scratching managing of the game. The lack of feel when calling plays and being a head coach, seven years and over 100 games into his head coaching career, have increased the calls for him to go after this season. The worst part about Zac Taylor's mismanagement is that the defense actually showed up on Sunday. What positives can be built on going forward? Joe Burrow is imminent to return on Thanksgiving Night in Baltimore when the Bengals play the Ravens. Alex, Mike, and Art discuss what it means for the team and Bengals fans with their superstar, franchise quarterback returning despite the team being 3-8. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Peloton Let yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com. PrizePicks Download the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuel Right now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There are several head coaches in the NFL that are Sean McVade disciples, but let's play a game of who doesn't belong, and you can probably tell which head coach does not belong, right? Mike Santagana? Yeah, tough offensive performance, and it feels like Joe Flacko's Linsanity Run has come to an end, especially with Joe Burrow coming back next week. And what makes this even worse, Coach Valero,

is the Bengals defense looked a lot better today, effort-wise. Well, I'm telling you what, They accepted the challenge. And the guy they got all the ire, Gino Stone, finally showed up, Kay made a big play, got us in the game. Now if it wasn't for the other turnover, hey, who knows what would have happened? A feel good moment in a failure of a season. This is Bengals Squad on the Lockdown Bengals and the Lockdown Podcast Network. Today, it's the Bengals Squad.

Everything Cincinnati Bengals every week. breaking down all the big hits and game-changing plays from the Queen City, the way only the Lockdown Podcast Network can. From the jungle to the playoffs, the Bengals Squad show starts now. Welcome to Bengals Squad on the Lockdown Mangles YouTube channel and the lockdown podcast network. Now the number one sports podcast network in America and the world. Your team every day, I'm Alex Frank, joined as always on game days post-game by Mike's antagona and head coach Art Valero.

Today's episode or this edition of Bengals squad is brought to you by prize picks. Download the prize picks app today and use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. The Bengals fall to the New England Patriots, 26 to 20 at Paycourt Stadium today, dropping to 3 and 8 on the season. Joe Flacco, as Mike, you mentioned in the open, his Linsanity run, probably came to an end two weeks ago. we probably saw the peak of it against the Chicago Bears and that three-game homestand.

Unfortunately, the defense just could not put anything on the field or on tape to give you some hope, although they did today, and we'll get to that throughout this show. But gentlemen, the conversation, I think, around Cincinnati and surrounding the Bengals is going to be, stop me if you've heard this before, about Zach Taylor, despite not having Jamar Chase and then T. Higgins late in the game, unfortunately, there were some late game situations, crucial situations that were severely mismanaged once again. Michael, start with you and then coach. Michigan here in your opinions on Zach Taylor.

Mike, how much increased pressure after today should there be on the Bengals' seventh year head coach? There should be a ton, but that also comes right. How much did it really increase today? I feel like it kind of reached its peak against the Steelers and that loss. feels like it's heading towards what could be an inevitable divorce. But, you know, there's one thing I want to say positive about Zach Taylor today is that he got the run game going. I felt like he used some tendency breakers.

You get Chase Brown over 100 rushing yards. And you look at some of the advanced stats with it. Chase Brown had over a, well, they had over a 50% success rate running the ball, picked up 33. When they handed the ball off 33% of the time, they picked up a first down. Like there's there's good stuff in there running the ball. I think the Patriots kind of let that happen a little bit too. They wanted to stop the passing game. But I do think what's really frustrating about not being able to get Flacco into a rhythm and to work in this game is that he was able to get the run game working throughout this game.

So it felt like this really felt like one of those everything was almost there except for the passing attack. The passing attack was just there was a couple of plays here and there, but pretty much non-existent, really. throughout the game. And coach, I think what's interesting about Mike, that's a great point because the running game was there. Chase Brown had a really good day running the football. It's just that Joe Flacco missed some open throws. He was throwing balls constantly into double coverage, triple coverage. I think there was even one play where he threw it into quadruple coverage.

But coach, when you have the running game going, when you have Joe Flacco struggling, like can you sense as a coaching staff when a player like Joe Flacco reached his peak? And then a few weeks later, in this case, three weeks later, he just simply did not have it. Can you sense that throughout the game as an offensive coaching staff? You know what? You can. You can feel the trajectory of the game and how it's going. And, you know, for them to be able to establish the running game and get efficient runs, we had five yards or carry. I mean, your guy sitting at home is going, well, you know what, should have hung with the run and a little bit more.

You know, unfortunately, down in distance-wise, it didn't allow it. Now, you get in there, the running game was good. The guys up front were playing well. They were creating things that happened. And you know what, unfortunately? And it happens a lot when you have your quarterback sitting out a day. Timing isn't necessarily there. And so it was great from Joe Burroughs standpoint of, hey,

You got a majority of the reps. Now, from Joe Flacko's standpoint, you're missing a day with almost an entirely due new emphasis on who's going to get the ball. And whether it be T. Higgins or the other two kids that showed up, and they played well. So, you know, there are some miss thrown balls. There were some balls thrown behind guys. And at that point, as a veteran, you start to force some things. and it doesn't, doesn't manage well for how you're playing the game. Let me ask you this real quick, Art, because the Bengals were without Jamar Chase,

they were without T. Higgins laid in the game, that crucial game winning drive that was not. How much when your number one wide receivers now, which the Bengals knew the entire week, how much does that impact game planning from an offensive coaching staff's perspective? Oh, it does. you go from the number one target or the target that is going to open other people up and all of a sudden now you got to say, oh, shoot, is his replacement going to be able to do the same things? Well, of course he isn't.

He's not Jamar Chase. So from a game plan, you orchestrate it a little bit differently. And, you know, the great thing is those two young guys that came in shoot down the stretch, even when T. Higgins was out, really performed well, and they showed that they need to be there and they should be there. Mike, did you see what Art was just saying about the impact that Chase not being here had on the Bengals offense today? Yeah, and I think what really struggled, what it really put a hamper on, I didn't think Joe Flacco was consistent with where he was looking throughout this game. You can think of he just didn't even look when he threw that checkdown

that turned into the pick six. There's another play where they're running one of their classics. It's slant flat on one side. I believe they call that a dragon concept, lying on the other side, two slants. Patriots are playing too high like they did most of the game. And on paper, you read the side of the double slants, but Flacco kind of tossed it into the slant flat side

and the ball gets batted down. And T. Higgins is the guy on the outside slant on that double slant. So they could have got an opportunity where he should have had a good look against his coverage, but it just really felt like Flacco, like he couldn't get into a rhythm. I think part of that was he couldn't get a feel for what the coverage was doing to him, where he should be with his eyes. It felt like there were times where his footwork didn't match up with where he wanted to throw the ball, too, just felt all out of sorts.

And that could be from what you said, Art, about him missing that day, was he just kind of lost himself the rhythm and how fast stuff happens. Easy for me to say all that. I'm not the one has to make all those decisions. See it's too high coverage. Find the right guy. throw an accurate ball all in two seconds. So, but Flacco normally could.

So that's, that's why it's notable is that when he was on his, his hot streak, it felt like his eyes were always in the right place. But part of that, I think, comes from, I'm always looking to Jamar Chase first on a lot of these concepts. And Jamar Chase is open a heck of a lot. And I don't think he has that type of trust just yet with any of the other guys. But also, as Art said, I really like the games that Yosevas and Tinsley had today. I felt like they stepped up enough.

It really did feel like if they just got more consistent quarterback play, this could have been a surprising upset. 19 to 37 for 183 yards, a touchdown that pick six to Marcus Jones, which is we talked about him. I mean, he read it like a book practically. I mean, as soon as he threw the ball when I saw Marcus Jones, from where I was sitting in PICOR Stadium, I knew it was going to be an interception in a pick six. And Marcus Jones was a big target to watch for coming into this game because he's one of the really good corners that we have in the NFL. Andre Yosey Bosch, four catches 61 yards, and then Mitchell Tinsley, two for 29, and a 17-yard

touchdown in the fourth quarter. But that transitions me to this, and this is the conversation in this first segment of Bengals squad today. The Bengals ran one play, the entire game in the red zone. One play. And before that, they had not scored an offensive touchdown since the their first possession against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Again, Jamar Chase was not playing.

T. Higgins was out on that one play to Mitchell Tensley. But that is no excuse to not have a feel for what you're doing as a game manager and a play caller. And Zach Taylor has proven now seven seasons in a large sample size over 100, games as the Bengals head coach. That, by the way, includes five playoff games and a super, actually six playoff games and a Super Bowl. He can't do it. I mean, the sequence today, which literally was a carbon copy of last week.

So we go to early in the fourth quarter where the Bengals are down seven, all right? So the Bengals are down seven, 13, 10 to go in the fourth quarter. mind you, the previous play was an incomplete pass on third and one. And if you want to talk about the whole sequence, we can talk about that too. It was second and two. Chase Brown ran left guard for one yard. Third and one, incomplete pass Chase Brown short right. So fourth and one.

Cody four reports is eligible. You don't run a play. And not only that, but let's take it a step further than last week, you don't call timeout. You take a delay game. you take a delay of game down seven when your season, which may have already been over at the time, is practically hanging in the balance. If you want Joe Borough to come back and play games where you're still in the playoff picture,

why aren't you going for it on fourth down? Why don't you have a play in? Are you trying to draw them off sides? And if you don't draw them off sides, call a timeout and then call a play in the timeout huddle. you take a five-yard penalty and then the Patriots kick a field goal on their next possession. So instead of being down three on the last drive, you were down six and needed a touchdown.

Oh, how things would have been different if you had the confidence and knew what you were doing to go for and on fourth down. Gentlemen, do you concur with what I'm saying here inventing about from what you saw in that crucial in-game sequence, fourth and one? You take a delay a game, punt, and then give them three. points. Yeah. It's kind of become a staple of Taylor is not trying to take advantage and be aggressive in those scenarios. And I was kind of surprised they went for the hard count again.

I mean, coach has a lot of experience. How often do you go out there on fourth and one, actually get them off sides in a game and then are able to do that again? Because I can tell you, Vrable was probably telling those guys, if you jump, you're sitting next to me the rest of the game. So they're not jumping on that fourth and one. Hey, there's two things that defensive players know. Fourth and one, yes, you do have to get off. But heads up for the hard count and as well as coming out, heads up for the hard count. Don't give them five yards.

Keep your, you know, hold your water and make a play. And that, to get five yards, it's an excuse. delay of games are inexcusable. And basically, all the onus goes back on the play caller, was he ready? Was he ready with the next call? And you have to be thinking two plays in advance. Don't be thinking about the first down call. You've got to get the first down first. And it's just like when you see a running back, dodging and bouncing. Hey, hit it. We need a first down. who cares if it messes up your average. We need a first down.

Now we're playing team football. And to me, to get a penalty like that, it's inexcusable. Yeah, I think the other part of this is I don't even know if they had a play. Like, that could have been a scenario. How do you not, though? Yeah, with just the dummy count and expecting to take five so that they can make room for the punter. But it's fourth and one. You're down seven.

like in that scenario, you got to have a play that can pick up a yard. And I think throwing the ball on third and one really signified to me is like, well, they should go for it on fourth and one then. You took your shot. So now we just need to pick up the yard. And they might have gotten a good jump too because they did draw them off sides earlier. So those defensive players can be a little bit more on their heels and maybe could have got that yard, but they didn't go for it.

And I think that's the most frustrating thing about Zach Taylor. When you look across the league, you got a lot of these guys that do go for those scenarios and get the most out of these situations, aren't able to add points. If they pick up a first down there, they're very close to being able to get in field goal range. And more than that, they're keeping the drive alive for a touchdown. So I was very frustrated about it, too, Alex.

I think that is one of the most frustrating things, now back-to-back games that he's done it. Mike, does Zach Taylor to you ever appeared ready and totally prepared to call and manage a game throughout his tenure? I think there's times. He can surprise you at times. I think of when Jamar Chase went out for multiple weeks and the Bengals offense was still very good. It felt like that was a scenario that kind of awarded him a little bit more grace.

I think the Jake Browning run a couple years ago gives him a little bit of grace. And really a couple weeks ago, the Joe Flacco run as well really felt like Zach Taylor had an idea of what he needed to do to get the offense to score. I mean, they're scoring 35, 40 points a game. They were losing them. That wasn't the offense's fault. So I think there are times when he looks prepared. He comes in and he gives you an advantage on the offensive side of the ball. But I think on the other side, there's a lot of the same issues that he's dealt with since he started.

Play calls come in late. You see them lining up trying to run a play with eight seconds left. And they're trying to change the mic and maybe kill the call and then they end up taking a time out. I think scenarios like this where if you get another guy in there, he could be more aggressive and maybe get you those fourth down conversions. So I think until those change and they haven't changed in seven years, you are going to take a little bit of a backseat to some of these higher level coaches that do go for those and are able to pick them up because they have a good short yardage package. Sometimes it's not about, go ahead, coach.

No, I was going to say, usually you have and you address your football team before the game. They know on Saturday night, hey, we get in the fourth and one, we're going for it. A lot of it depends on field position, but we're playing complimentary football. I will contact the defensive coordinator to say, hey, if we don't get it, are you good? Yes, we're good. Now, all of a sudden, you get a penalty. So that's kind of like trying to trick the Patriots into getting your own first down instead of saying, okay, boys, you guys up front, it's on you.

It's on you. third and short and fourth and short, O line, you belong to that. So you're putting your name on that, whether we keep moving the ball and score or not. And that's usually addressed during the week, night before the game, hey, gentlemen, we're in a must-have situation. All right, so be ready for it. Yeah, trying to trick the Patriots, probably not something that you're going to succeed at very many times. It's a smart football team.

And look, look, the bottom line is this. Some head coaches in this in this league, Sean McVag, Kyle Shanahan, they can be great head coaches and play callers. Some cannot. Unfortunately, Zach Taylor at the end of the day is the head coach of the Bengals and his mismanagement of crucial situations has not been great this season. And it really has been shaky at best throughout his tenure in Cincinnati. So how much does today's performance increase the temperature of his hot seat?

We will get into that conversation coming up next right here on Bengal Squad. Today's edition of Bengal Squad is brought to you by prize picks. You and I make decisions every day like Zach Taylor, but on prize picks, being right can get you paid. Don't miss any of the excitement of this sports season, whether you're following the NFL, the NBA, or if you're like me, both. There's no better time to jump in on the action if you haven't tried it yet.

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It's good to be right. Don't forget to check out James Rapine and Jake Lisco on lockdown Bengals for their recap of the game against the New England Patriots out on YouTube and Apple Podcasts and wherever you listen to podcast. Bengals Squad Show. For those of you new to this show, just tuning in for the first time, this is a supplement to the daily lockdown Bengals podcast. We are a twice a week long-form conversational show talking all things, Cincinnati Bengals. Mike Santagana, and Art Valera with me, Alex Frank, as they are on every game day following the Bengals game, Jake and Art and James midweek as we approach the upcoming game. So the Bengals, again, losing to the New England Patriots 26 to 20 at Paycor Stadium today, dropping to 3 and 8 on the season, eight losses in their last nine games. And let's be honest, the Bengals aren't going anywhere this season.

They may win another game. They may win multiple other games this season. but they're not going to the playoffs. Their schedule is just way too difficult coming up, including Thanksgiving night this coming Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens. Zach Taylor, three and eight now this season. He had four straight winning seasons coming into this.

It just has not materialized into anything this season. Personally, I don't see a reason to how you can justify to this fan base. If you do bring him back next season, why you would. But Mike and Art after today, what does a mismanagement of the crucial in-game situations and the stagnant that the offense being in stagnant for most of the game, what does it do to increase the temperature of the hot seat for Zach Taylor? Yeah, I mean, if you have a losing season and I don't think you're going to be awarded as much grace because of going through this with the Browning years and you didn't get those wins this year and they're able to get Joe Burrow. back in season. So if they were able to make this like a 500 type of event where, you know,

you drop a game to the Bears, but you beat the Jets, maybe you pull this one out and they go, whatever, they go around 500. You're in long shot, but playoff contention. I would say now they're just out of it. I mean, you go undefeated. You probably still don't make it at 9 and 8. So that's unfortunate because Joe Burroughs probably back on Thursday. But I think that's the really frustrating part of this. is that you couldn't get a couple of wins here, either while the offense was good and the defense wasn't, or like today where I thought the defense was pretty good and the offense wasn't.

Never got complimentary football, as Art mentions, a lot. It always felt like one side was outperforming what you would expect, and the other side was doing the same, but in the wrong direction. They were playing worse than you expected. So I would say it seats hot, but I felt like that going into the game, too. It felt much like Lou Anirumo's seat being flaming hot after that Steelers lost, where Russell Wilson threw for 400 yards or they scored whatever, a ton of points. It did also feel like Zach Taylor's seat hit its peak in hotness.

Like his seat is flaming hot after that loss to the Steelers. And then this game, it adds to it a little bit, but it was already there because you basically lost playoff contention against your biggest rival in a kind of embarrassing way because you didn't get to manage the players correctly and they lost their temper and it went from a close game in the third quarter to being a blowout and embarrassing. It feels like if you if they fire Zach there at the end of the year, which I think they will, I think you'll look back at that Steelers game and go, yeah, I think that was the moment that they that this reached its tipping point. And argue and argue talked about it. Don't to cut in here. But you talked about it last week, Jamar Chase, when he said staying in his lane,

well, the offense has not been performing, has not been pulling its weight these last two games, and then he's suspended for this game. So is that a sign when it comes to the hot seat of Zach Taylor just does not have the locker room like he used to? Well, you know, it, it, the frustration level over the last, you know, shoot, you take it all the way back to their losing streak. a lot of those competitors, they get frustrated. And not to make an excuse for Jamar, but they, I mean, he hit his point. He was as frustrated as anybody. And at the time the incident happened, he'd only had two balls.

And he felt like he wasn't contributing. Now, a lot of that was the way they were playing him. But that whole group is frustrated. Now, I think here's an interesting take on it. as late as they said that Joe Burrow wasn't going to play. Game plan wise, do you put in a Joe Flacco game plan or a Joe Burrell game plan? Well, Joe had the majority of the reps, right? They made the decision late.

So the rest of the offense, hey, you call it, we'll haul it. That's normally the way they go about it. You build up that amp, you know, in the locker room that, hey, Joe, Joe's looking good. Joe's looking good. Joe's looking good. Oh, he's not playing. Huh. There's a, and we don't have Joe and we don't have Jamar.

And who else don't we have? Okay. So you go into the game. And even if Joe was, Joe Burrow was playing, they ran the ball, which would have taken a lot of pressure off of him. All right. And was the power. game Joe Burrow oriented to where he could have made those easy completions that were awry. So you wonder what kind of game plan they had in, how they sell it, because that's what you do as an

offensive staff, is you have to stimulate your players early in the week by game plan. You tell them how we're going to go about winning. You inspire them during practice in the middle of the week. Okay, is Joe plan or is Joe plan? Which is Joe's plan? We don't know. You didn't address it, you know, on Friday, hey, we're going forward on forward down. We got to have this, regardless of who's in the game.

So the mindset is a little bit taken back by the other 10 guys on the field. And if you can anticipate what's going to be called, what you've practiced, talked about it on the sidelines, then everything can function at a degree that you want it to be. So I was a bit concerned about, you know, how the late scratch of Joe Borough, but I think that the way that they played today, kind of small ball, is the way you needed to bring Joe Burrow into the game and kind of protect him with a run game, let him throw some play actions. Don't make it because you got to remember.

lot of things will change next week when Joe Burrow is no longer under the center, but he's now in the gun. And, okay, now, you know, are we doing those things other than nine on seven, other than the team running some of those runs? Is everything more passing oriented because we want to see Joe get his timing down? So it's kind of a coin flip how you manage that as an offensive staff and how you give your athletes the game plan of this is how we're going to win. Now, on the other side of the ball, they took it. They took everything that they had and they went out there. And, you know, for the most part, you don't throw the pick six. hey, they win the game.

Yeah. And that's where I think Joe Burrow would have won the Bengals this game. He wouldn't, he would not have thrown that check down to Chase Brown, where Marcus Jones read it like a book, like I mentioned earlier. I even think Burrow could have led that game winning drive. I think Joe Burrow wouldn't have taken the sack that knocked the Bengals out of field goal range late in the first quarter. And then the quote gentleman that got me this week when Zach Taylor was talking to the media on Friday,

and about whether or not Joe Burrow was going to play. And he says, well, we can take it as long as we want. No, you can't. You're three and seven. And you're already without Jamar Chase. And to your point earlier, Mike, Joe Burrow went three and one without Jamar Chase in 2022. And he was really good in that stretch. Four touchdowns at Pittsburgh.

He had one touchdown at Tennessee and iced the game with some incredible throws to Trent Nervin and T. Higgins. So I don't understand. If your quarterback goes full Wednesday and Thursday, and the guys in the locker room are clearly excited despite being three and seven, that, hey, he can return and maybe they write this. But then you just decide he doesn't play. You don't have the luxury of time.

If you are five and five, sure, I can buy it. You're three and seven. Like, that's the quote that got me. We can take it as long as we want. Again, it goes back to feel. And that's where Zach Taylor lacks. Because the other side of the ball art, as you mentioned, looked a lot better today.

Barrett Carter looked like he knew what he was doing out on the field. That's a big development positively for the rookie linebacker out of Clemson. Gino Stone with the pick six, as we mentioned. So, Mike, how, what did you see from the defense today that gives you, okay, this could be built on throughout the rest of this season and into 2026? They brought some pressure. I felt like Al Golden was able to beat the Patriot Protection Scheme a little bit, which is something I didn't see much throughout the year. Their front, I mean, I thought Miles Murphy was solid again today. It felt like especially after Morgan Moses got hurt and they were trying to play a seventh round pick over there.

He was beating him like he should. But yeah, I think the changes in the call, the change in the play calls being more aggressive, bringing some pressure. I think of that clutch third and ten call to send everybody. And a great play from DJ Turner too, because I don't think that was his man on the inside. His man was going deep. But he kept eyes knowing the ball's going to come out quick to make a break and make a play on the ball. But I was impressed with Al's play calling. I felt like he did a good job of throwing a wrench into what the Patriots wanted to do.

He did this short-handed in a lot of ways where he's down Trey Hendrickson. He's down he's down Shamar Stewart. He's down. He went down Oren Burke's earlier in the game too. Cam Taylor Britt. Cam Taylor Britt. He's down to Josh Newton. He only has the rookies at linebacker.

His edges, Joseph Osai and Miles Murphy and didn't know. So I go down at some point in this game too. it's short-handed, I was pretty impressed. And I thought a lot of that came from him being a little bit more aggressive in terms of bringing pressure and not relying just on four to get home. I thought that he made Drake May kind of double clutch and kind of think about what he's doing. I think that kind of led to some of those overthrows. And they made best of their opportunities. When they got an opportunity on an overthrow like that, Geno Stone doesn't only intercept it, takes it the whole way back.

No chance of this becoming a field goal or something that kind of deflates the momentum. of that situation. He's going to go back and score the thing. So I felt like the defense was about as, they played about to their ceiling. Like this is about all I could ask for them to hold the Patriots who were red hot to 19 points. I know it says 26. That's a Joe Flacco pick six in there. And I don't want to put that on the defense. So to hold them to 19 points, I thought that was a tremendous job from them. Yeah, one offensive touchdown only for the Patriots today. That's good. 392 total yards. They held him to 107 Russian years. The Bengals actually out, the Patriots, if you want to take it that way, 21 first downs, five of 13 on third down,

or specifically I want to ask you, the goal line stand times two. How impressive was that for this defense? You know, once that happened, once they stopped them on third down, and then they stopped them again on fourth, you knew that defense right there. They had had everybody was in the gap they were supposed to be. There were no mistakes. And everybody bowed up and they made a play. Somebody made a play. And that goal line stand in the National Football League doesn't happen. And especially with an eight and two team against a three and seven team, that shouldn't happen. You know, because they too have film. And they're going to find the best place. And I tell you what, when the Bengals stood up and they boat up and they made a great play, I said, you know what, this is how you want your defense to

play. They can build on that, you know, and, you know, they, as Mike was saying, hey, you know, Miles Murphy, you know, he's a solid player. He is a solid player. He's not a great player yet, but as being a third year player, he stepped up to where you didn't even miss the other two guys. you know, and, you know, a couple things in the end zone where there were defensive holdings. Shoot, you take those things away. And you've got, you've got a good defensive performance. And Murphy was one of the two guys that made that fourth down stop, too. So it does feel like he's kind of ascending a little bit here where he was fairly unreliable,

his first couple of years, some flashes here and there, but not consistent. And then this is back-to-back games where you look at that and go like, Well, that guy could play. Like, that guy can play for us, whether it's a role player, whether that's, he's the Robin to Trey Hendrickson's Batman, and they're switching other guys in there too, maybe with some more juice and stuff. But you look at that and you're, okay, so if we get this first round pick, it's not a complete whiff. Like, this guy can play a little bit. He's going to play some good run defense. You can get a little bit of pass rush going.

If he's going against a guy he can beat, then, yeah, I think that's one of the good developments from this. You did mention defensive holdings. I think the other thing we might have to talk about is not. a great day for Dax Hill. I felt like that was the guy that, you know, the Josh McDaniels, Drake May, they wanted to put him under the microscope and he didn't rise to the occasion, a lot of, a few penalties, two on that one drive. And it did feel like he got picked on a little bit.

I think he played really well last week. So I was hoping he and Murphy would build upon this as former first round picks and that were pretty inconsistent throughout their careers. But it'll, we'll see again next, well, Thursday, not even. next week, really. But next week in the NFL, if, you know, he can bounce back after that performance. But, yeah, I think those are the two big standouts in my brain from this game was Dax Hill didn't rise to the occasion. But I felt like Miles Murphy did again. Yeah. You know what, you know what? And I might be wrong. But against Pittsburgh was his first multiple reps. I mean, he played 56th place.

other than that, he had averaged like eight. Well, playing the game gets you more settled into the game and allows you to do the things your coach to do. And I thought that, you know, he can certainly work on his pass rest moves, work on his hand fighting. There's a lot of things that he can do to increase his value. But I think it was great. And, you know, as far as Dax is concerned, if I'm sitting back all week and I see the trouble that my other guy, Gino's going through, I'm saying, you know what, they coming out picking somebody?

They're going to pick on him. Oh, no, they're picking on me. So your game's off a little bit. Yeah. You know, because you didn't amp yourself up. In the National Football League, every play, your job is the most important. on every single play. And if you decide to not prepare yourself enough to go into the game,

then you're going to play that way because those guys will find you. They will find you that you're out of position. And I think confidence, a big thing with corners too. And I think getting a couple of those flags probably hurt his confidence and made him play a little worse. He's like, I didn't really grab him that much. Like, you don't need to throw this flag. No. That's always the DB's excuse.

Yeah. Really? I did. Yeah. Here's some interesting, though, too. Trayvion Henderson, who really was one of the hotter running backs in the NFL coming into this week, held to just 66 yards on 18 carries. Drake made 22 of 35 for 294 and a touchdown in the pick six.

He was sacked one time in this game as well, rating of 87.1. We'll continue the defense. conversation, the improvements, what this means for Al Golden. And we'll also talk about one of the feel good stories from today's game in Evan McPherson. We'll get into all of that coming up right here on Bengals Squad. This edition of Bengals Squad is brought to you by game time. The NFL season is in full swing and there's nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans cheering on your team even when they fall to three and eight. But let's be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle between cues.

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Back on Bengals squad here on the Lockdown Bengals YouTube channel and the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network in America and the world. Your team every day, the Bengals falling to the Patriots 26 to 20 at Baycourt Stadium today. Now 3 and 8 on the season. James Rapien, Jake, let's go back with their recap tomorrow, or excuse me, out right now on Locked on Bengals. YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts. So the defense, obviously, we've been talking about their improvements today.

There seems to be some optimism around some guys going forward. Because this season has gone the way it is, I'd be shocked if there weren't at least some major sweeping changes on the coaching staff, maybe even the front office, this offseason as soon as the season ends in early January. But what about Al Golden? what in the last two performances, not so much Pittsburgh, but today at least, what does it do for you, Mike, and your confidence level in him? I feel great that he finally had a good game. I don't think he survives.

It's just when you look at the totality of the season, it's been worse than Lou Anorimos was. And if you're thinking Zach Taylor is going to get the boot, you'd have to be a heck of a coordinator for him for the next coach to want to keep you on board despite that. So I think that's, I'm glad that he. was able to put together this performance, and I hope that he can take some momentum and get this thing rolling through the next few weeks as well and through the end of the season, really, because I want to see him succeed somewhere, but I've got to be honest. When you're looking at historically bad so far production on the defensive side of the ball, those coordinators

typically don't stay in that role. That's probably what I was thinking, too. But Ard, what did you see today from Al Golden that we really haven't seen all season. I mean, this was only the second time this season. They've allowed fewer than 27 points. So the bar is low, as we all know. Yeah, you know what? And I think that poor guy has been beat up. And he's been digging everything he has got in his tenure as a coach to try to get through to these guys.

And, you know, Mike was talking about earlier. You take away the pick six. And it's 19, right? They score 19. You take away the blown coverage on the corner route by Higby, and now it goes to 12. So defensively, that's something they can build on. If it just sues their own pride that, yes, they can play in this league,

they can call defensive plays in this league, then, hey, that is, it was a great job on the defense. because they finally got through to them. And players play, coaches coach, and you come up with great game plans, everything's shorter now because they haven't played Baltimore twice, you know, so now everything's a new. Can you get it all in in two days, three days?

Let's hope so. Look, it definitely has been a tough season for him. And look, these coaches are humans. And Ard, you were in this, you were in a position similar to Al Golden being an NFL coach. But I do feel happy for him that he was able to utilize some different things on Sunday. You brought up, I think, Mike, it was you, the pressure that he brought on third and 11 late in the game. Clearly, it threw Drake May off.

I was really excited because not only do you get the stop, but a 51-yard field goal is not a make, not an automatic make by any means. So you put the Patriots in a tough situation. Speaking of kickers, and Art, I'm going to turn to you. I'm going to take you back to week seven, 2006. Your Buccaneers are playing the Philadelphia Eagles. And Matt Bryant nails a 62-yard field goal to win you guys the game. By the way, I should preface that this came a week after the Buccaneers beat the Bengals in a game that I still think Michael Clayton did not cross the goal line for the game.

for the game for the game when he touchdown, Art, sorry if I have to bring that up. Mike, I'm sure that pains you to remember that game. But anyway, I think McPherson today makes a 63-yard field goal at the end of the first half, longest kick in Bengals history. By the way, he had the longest kick before that as well. So there is that. Art, from your experience with Matt Bryan, who had a booming leg. What is the advantage that the overall team has when you have a kicker like that?

Oh, it's unbelievable. You know, because once you cross the 40, you know you got a chance to put points on the board. Now, granted, both teams did not get in the red zone. I mean, very often this today. So when you have a weapon like that and you can play kind of a shorter game and get points on the board regardless of. of where you're on on the field. His weight is worth gold. And when you know you've got that,

you can protect for him and he can get it through. Hey, they're all in it. They're all in for them. And that's the great thing about it. Mike, in a lost season that this has been for the Bengals, how crucial is it to see Evan McPherson, like the Evan McPherson in 2021 this season? I'm getting his swagger bag, making these kicks.

he should have had a 70 yard earlier this year. I mean, he's looked really good this season. I think that's huge because he wasn't really very good last year. You can think of a few games where he missed kicks at the end that could have tied or won the game. And I think getting this season, I measure with corners, confidence, but kickers too, that's got to be such a tough job. Like, you've got to have the confidence that you can go out there and kick a 63-yard field goal and know you'll make it because you get how many opportunities, opportunities a game. Four, you get to go out there for four opportunities.

You don't get a chance to get warm. You don't get a rep where, you know, it's a nothing rep for you. He's like, I didn't do anything good on this play. If you're an office of lineman, you get beat on the backside of a run, you think, well, look, I got 60 plays today. I'll make, I'll make good on the rest of them. Kicker, you get one shot. You get one shot, and then you're back on the bench for a long time.

So seeing his confidence, seeing him consistently hit, seeing him hit from 60 plus, I think this stuff's huge. I think because they extended Evan McPherson, and that's when it felt like it kind of changed for the worst. I did read an article that he changed his form. I don't know enough about kickers what I'm watching, but he went back to what he used to be doing. So I don't know if he got in his own head

when he was missing field goals and tried to change things and tweak things up with his own form and how he approaches the ball. But whatever he's doing is working right now. I know he has missed kicks this year, but I would say in general, I feel good when he's lining up to kick one this year. And I can't say that about last year. That's a really, that, that right there.

Because last year, there were so many kicks that he missed. He missed an extra point in Kansas City. He missed a 40-something yard against the commanders on Monday night football. And that was like, he normally makes that. And then he missed the one against the Ravens. Then he missed another one against Philly. And then he missed the two against the Chargers. And then he ends up getting injured and missing the last five games.

of the regular season. There was an article on bangles.com from Jeff Bush Hopson that talked about what he was doing and how he really, to what you're alluding to, it wasn't really changing much. He was just going back to what worked. And you're seeing that this season, which is so important, because here's the thing. You can talk about Joe Burrow and how great he was during the run to the Super Bowl. Evan McPherson had four straight, three straight games with four made field goals in the playoffs. Like, that's high pressure situation. So it's great to see him look like himself again. And that is going to be crucial going into next season.

It's interesting because I was having a conversation with a former college kicker last year right after the Chargers game. And he's like, it's not Evan McPherson. It's the fact that he had a completely new launch snapper, punter, and kicker unit. And that can impact. certain situation. So it's great to see Evan McPherson doing, having the kind of season that he's having the Pittsburgh game-winning field goal. I think he needed that as much as anybody needed

anything this season. And then the 63-yard today after a 54-yarder in the first quarter. So just wanted to get that in there. And look, it's it's a huge deal because he is as valuable of a core member to this team as I would argue anybody. Is that an overreach there, Mike and R. When I say that? I don't believe so. I think that once those guys, and you can say what you want about kickers, but they can listen to too much noise, which will throw them off.

They'll get overcoached, which will throw them off. And when they are in, they've got their mojo right. and they are who they are and they're very, very confident, you have no idea. And I think that is the National Football League. The biggest story in the National Football League this year is how many long field goals there have been. And they've got great legs and people are staying out of their way and letting them boot it. Not only that, though, but you look at how many kicks have been blocked this season. And I'm sure you guys have seen that.

I mean, the Rams had, I mean, they had their kicking issues earlier this season, cost them two games against the Eagles and 49ers, which may come back to hurt them down the stretch. So, Mike, do you concur with what Art is saying about how valuable McPherson is to this team? Yeah, yeah. When he's on, he's super valuable. I think the thing that's got to be crazy for Art is when you were coaching, like 50 yards used to be like,

this guy's got a pretty good leg, be able to hit from 50 yards consistently. And I was like 20 kickers that can hit from 60 yards like that. It's like, man, where did they get these guys? Yeah. Oh, they're like the bionic men. You know, I mean, it's crazy. They're like Steve Austin. You know, and the other thing that's pretty good is I kind of took a peek at, you know,

as we've been doing these shows is we talk about offense and defense and one's on, one's not. But the group that has stayed consistent has been special teams. Yeah. And maybe that is because they got a roster full of special teams. players, but the punters and the kickers have really stabilized that group. And they're the ones that I think that have gotten them to this point. A, A, can continue to grow and get better and better and better. Yeah, Rico had another good game, I think.

Yeah, he did. He's been a consistently good punter this season, so that's good to find. He had one that wasn't necessarily his cup of tea that kind of went out on the 20, where he could have backed him up. But other than that, shoot, he was spot on. Last point I'll make about this is this. End of the first half. Charlie Jones has a long kickoff return nullified by a holding penalty. Now that was huge because the Bengals could have gotten a touchdown there.

But you know Evan McPherson and maybe Zach Taylor had this in the back of his mind. And if he did it, that's great. He makes a 54 yarder earlier. You have 18 seconds two timeouts, get a few completions, which they did, and then get a 63-yard fuel goal to give you some points, knowing two you have the ball coming out of the second half. So special teams, you're right, has been really good this season for the Cincinnati Bengals. But one really good storyline, or at least it could be, and hopefully it will be,

is Joe Burrow is going to be returning, likely Thursday night, Thanksgiving night in Baltimore. We'll talk about what it means, despite the Bengals being three and eight. Could he have one of the best moments of his career if he can lead the Bengals to a victory in Baltimore? because, look, winning still matters, even when you're out of the playoff picture. It matters all the time. We'll get into that conversation. Plus, I'll bring up another memory that Coach Arfallero may not be too fond of. We'll get to that next right here on Bengals Squad.

It's the Bengals and the Ravens Thursday night, Thanksgiving night, 820 on NBC. John Madden, Thanksgiving. Are you played on Thanksgiving in 2006? What was it like to play on that holiday in Dallas? Oh, that particular game was awesome. Yes. Well, yes, it was 3810. Don't have never got the final score.

No, you know what? And I'm not a real big, real fan of Thursday night games because they are short. They're great on the back end, you know, because you get a couple extra days. But you're already this far into the season. You're 11 games in. You're going into, you know, week 13, I believe it is. And you're already beat up, banged up, and tired. Your practice situation changes.

You become more of a walk-through team. You've got to get in the game plan. You still need timing. You need all those things. And all of a sudden now, not only are you playing on Thursday, you are on national TV. Yep. And so everybody, I mean, even the guys that had too much turkey are sleeping halfway through the game, but you're still on national TV.

And so all eyes are on you. And so you want to let everybody know. Hey, and not only are you playing for your team, and in some of this cases, if they do blow the team up, you're interviewing for the other 30 guys, the other 30 teams. So you want to put your best foot forward. And it's good from that standpoint, and it's good on the back end where you get a couple extra days to kind of relax and reheal. but they're just coming off of a buy. So you don't necessarily, it's kind of a funky day.

But when you got a chance to play on Thanksgiving Day, oh, it's big. It's big. Look, I've said it. John Madden and Thanksgiving is like journey and don't stop believing. They just go together. They're timeless classics. Mike's antagonist when the Bengals schedule was released, when you found out the Bengals were playing on Thanksgiving,

albeit in Baltimore, on the road in prime time for a fourth straight season, a Thursday night for a third straight season. How excited were you? I wasn't. Wow. Thursday night Thanksgiving game. I don't want to have to watch. Well, we're going to be doing this show whenever time.

I'm excited. Yeah, I'll be doing the show. I'm excited for that. But I'll tell you, like doing shows and stuff, man, nothing beats a Sunday 1 o'clock where I can go watch the games after. I don't got to stay up until 1A. I'm doing this type of stuff. So I wasn't overly excited about them getting the Thanksgiving game just because I,

Thanksgiving's a holiday. Like I skip those games sometimes. I don't watch them all the time. I'm there. I watch the Lions game always when the turkey's cooking. Then the Cowboys come on while I'm eating usually. And I sleep through the back half of that. And then I just see if the last game's good or not.

And I can maybe get a little extra sleep there because I'm not working the next day. Now I won't be doing that. I'll be up. I'll be recording this. First time the Bengals are. I wasn't super excited that they got the Thanksgiving. I was like, I love a primetime game. But why not a month?

Monday nighter where maybe I could watch Peyton and Eli talk about Joe Burrow glowingly. That sounds like my type of game. The only good thing about when the Bengals play the Ravens, is you're already done with your Thanksgiving supper, and you're now on your first turkey sandwich,

and maybe your second or third pumpkin pie. Oh my gosh. Oh, man. This is good. First time the Bengals are playing on Thanksgiving in 15 years. What does Joe Burrow returning, or at least eminently returning, mean for this team, despite being three and eight? I think, I mean, look, I know there's

long-term concerns. There's concerns going to next year. It's kind of a lost season for Joe Burrow, but I can't imagine telling a guy that competitive that you're just going to sit on ice, even if you're healthy. I don't think he would like to hear that. I don't think he wants to stay, he wants to keep throwing the ball. You only get, think about what Flacco said going to this year. This time's going to fly. And then it's gone. So Flacco's holding on. I would assume if Flacco and Burrow talked, despite this hurting Flacco possibly,

he'd be like, play. Like, you're going to love these moments. This is the only time that you will be an NFL quarterback. So try to get out there as much as you can. And I'm sure Burrow already thinks that. So I understand the issue that's like, oh, he could get hurt worse for next year. And then next season screwed, that's not going through his mind at all. And maybe if you're the staff or whatever, you could shut him down.

But I just find that hard to blow. believe that with these super competitive guys, that he's healthy enough to go out there and play, that you would, A, be able to shut him down, but B, that you would be okay on the back end. And he's not raising a little stink about like, you shut me down. Like, I can't go out and play. So I get why he's out there. Like, when you think about it from his perspective, art from an offensive line perspective, offensive line coach, offensive lineman, what is it, what is the message being sent to that

group knowing he's coming back despite the Bengals record being what it is? Oh, you know what? They may not say it, but they know they have to protect him. They know they have to be able to run the football. And that's the great thing. They now have their guy back going through the cadence, a very familiar cadence, except for the two rookies, that it's the reason why they're Bengals. And it's the reason why they're there is to protect him. Now, it's huge.

And it's kind of putting it on everybody. and, you know, Baltimore traditionally, very aggressive on defense. They've had their struggles. So I'm excited to see him come back out and play. Well, one guy who I would be comfortable saying right now, based on the way he looked after he got up from being on the turf today, T. Higgins, I don't see a world where he plays on Thursday. Jamar Chase is going to play.

That's great. Chase Brown will be there. Mike is sick. He'll be there. Good to see him back today. Plus, you'll have no offense. But you mentioned the Ravens, who the Bengals will play for the first time this season. They've won five in a row.

They're six and five. We'll get Art back here in just a second. So, Mike, we all know the two games last year between the Bengals and the Ravens. I mean, let's be honest, they weren't. They didn't end very well. We wish they would have turned out differently.

What are you most concerned about with this Bengals defense going into this game? And then on the officer side, are you nervous at all about Joe Borough returning and it being the Ravens? I think on defense, I'm most nervous. And they tackled well today, but not tackling well in the game coming up. You think of Derek Henry. I know he's a little older. He's maybe not as good as he was in his prime days. You think of Lamar Jackson?

That's a tough one where they struggle a little bit getting pressure. and it feels like when they do get pressure, it comes from possibly winning around the outside. Does that still work when the guy that's at quarterback is one of the most elusive players in the entire league and can break out of that? And now he's breaking, contain, and getting upfield.

It felt like some of what might have worked, might not work this week. So I am a bit concerned about the defensive side of things. Also feels like the Ravens haven't had the best offensive performances lately. So they might be catching them on a little cold streak here. So, but I would say, on the Bengals offensive side of things, yeah, I'm nervous about Joe Burrow being rusty, being out of rhythm, not looking his best, he's not going to have T. Higgins. He's going to have Jamar Chase. He's going to have the young guys that stepped up today. Can they step up again? I think what I'm most concerned about is the offensive line. Despite I think the offensive line playing pretty good, ever since Flacco got in there. And again, today I thought they were solid. They did enough to win this game. And you think of the run game, I gave Taylor some credit. Offensive line deserves a lot of credit. So if the offensive line can go out and perform like they have. the last few weeks, provide running room.

When the Ravens are going to give you looks with two deep safeties and you have a great look to run the ball, block it up, block it up, get five yards of carry, put Joe Burrow into second and five, get him into third and one in these scenarios where they're not pinning their ears back. And Zach Orr, their defensive coordinator, can't go to his fun, exotic packages of rushing the passer. If you can keep him out of that, I feel a lot better. And I feel like the offensive line has played pretty well.

They need to do it again. And I think one of the things that they did this week, and it might have been in preparation for possibly Joe Burrow playing, was that Dalton Reisner went in at right guard. He started the game at right guard. And that gives you the veteran who's at this point a little more technically sound, a little harder to get through as a pass protector than the rookie that was starting there earlier. I think he's going to play again.

Can he play up to the same level he's been playing at ever since he actually got benched and came back? I felt like that was a change for him because he played really well at left guard. I think Fairchild's been good. I think Mims has been good. I think Ted Karris has really spun his season around. He's playing really good ball too. So for what these guys are and what they, you know, they see the stuff online, I'm sure.

But what people say about them, I think they're playing above that for the most part. And that's what they're going to need if Joe Burrow is going to have a great game. And this Bengals office is going to do a really good job against the Ravens on Thursday. Arnold, end with this question for you. And bear with me here. So take me back to week one of 2006. You guys opened the season against the Ravens. We don't have to mention what the final score was.

But that Ravens defense in 2006 was incredible. I mean, the guys on that defense, Ray Lewis, Chris McAllister, Ed Reed, Halodinaata, Terrell Suggs. I could go on and on and on. Rex Ryan, by the way, defensive coordinator of that team, of that defense. has the Ravens identity changed that much defensively over the years since you played against them? You know what? I think the identity is the same.

But the talent pool isn't quite the same. I think that what would end up happening, you know, there was one thing that really stuck out in your mind with when Rex was the defensive coordinator there, If you happen to throw a pick, they were like 11, well, 10 different, they would hunt you up. And not only and physically just crush you. And that attitude and the Terrell Sugs of the world and the Bray-Lua, there was an, I mean, we talk about leadership and attitude. it came from those veteran guys. With Ed Reed being in the back, shoot, you didn't want to get the fourth down because you didn't want to punt it to them, you know.

But I think the talent pool has, they've gone away from a little bit. I don't know if there's enough guys out there that look like those and fit that system just like it hasn't with the Pittsburgh Steelers. You know, they've got kind of a cookie cutter of who they're looking for. But yeah, no, they've got a ways to go. They do, and they have a lot of injuries this season on that side of the ball. So it'll be interesting to see how that translates to Thursday night, where we will be live Thanksgiving night, Black Friday morning after the game,

Bengals and Ravens right here on the lockdown Bengals YouTube channel and the lockdown podcast network, the number one sports podcast network in America and the world, your team every day. Mike and Ard will join me, Alex Frank. Then gentlemen, a quick final thoughts before we close today's show as the Bengals full to 3 and a courtesy of a 2620 loss to the New England Patriots. About as much as you could hope for. I mean, they're not making the playoffs. So competitive losses compared to looking like a terrible team on one side of the ball,

I think this is okay for them. This isn't okay. Things look better despite the loss. So I think that's all I really was looking for in this game. A win would have been great, but I don't mind a competitive loss when the season's already pretty much over. Coach? Absolutely.

That, I mean, Mike said it really, really well. They, it was nice to see the defense step up. Nice to see the running, the running game come, come around. Now you got Joe Worrell possibly coming back into the mix. Hey, too little too late? No, it's never too late. As long as you're competing, you've got a chance. And I think there was about the least the last two or three games.

sure if everybody was competing. And today kind of showed me, hey, where's this been? Where is this kind of attitude coming out? And Joe Burrow returning and playing is better for everybody involved with the Cincinnati Bengals, the team and the fan base and us alike. This has been Bengals squad on the lockdown Bengals YouTube channel and the lockdown podcast network, the number one sports podcast network in America and the world, your team every day. Mike Santagina is on Twitter at Bengals underscore Sands. Art Valeros on Twitter at Arthur Valero 3 on Twitter. I'm Alex Frank at Frankie underscore Natty on Twitter.

Thank you for joining us this afternoon on another tough day for the Bengals. But there may have been some positives. And the biggest one of the ball, of course, is Joe Burrow returning. For Thursday night, Thanksgiving night, John Madden, Thanksgiving celebration in Baltimore. We'll be with you live after the game. Check out James and Jake tomorrow or actually it's out right now on lockdown Bengals. on YouTube and wherever you watch and listen to podcasts.

For Mike Santagana and Coach Art Valero, I'm Alex Frank. This has been Bengals Squad on the lockdown Bengals, YouTube channel and the lockdown podcast network, the number one sports podcast network in the world, your team every day. Have a great rest of your weekend. Have a great and happy Thanksgiving to you two gentlemen and to everyone out there. We sincerely are thankful for your support and viewership,

listenership on the lockdown podcast, Norg and Bengals Squad and lockdown Bengals. Happy Thanksgiving. We'll talk to you. Thanksgiving night, Black Friday morning after Bengals and Ravens.