Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Death Knell: Bengals CRUMBLE in Pittsburgh , Offense FAILS in Loss to Steelers

Episode Date: November 16, 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals' season is all but over after dropping to 3-7 in Pittsburgh. The Steelers effectively shut down Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and the Bengals' offense that couldn't capitalize on early opportunities before the entire team wilted in the second half. Jake Liscow and James Rapien break down how it all went wrong in a frustratingly predictable, crushing loss.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.PrizePicksDownload 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/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload 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.FanDuelRight 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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Stop me if you've heard this before. It was pathetic. Again, except this time, maybe there's more on the offenses side of the plate. Let's break down a death knell for the Bengals in Pittsburgh. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What up Bengals fans. And welcome to another episode of the Locked On Bengals podcast.

Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. now the number one sports podcast network out there. We appreciate all of you who make Lockdown Bengals. Your first listen in all of you who make Lockdown Bengals part of your everyday routine, even in this rough season. He's James Rapine. I'm Jake Liscoe. We've got you covered here on Lockdown Bengals,

and we have since 2016, since this show launched, making it your best spot on the internet for all things Bengals, even in, like I said, down seasons like this one, that for all intents and purposes may have come to an end in Pittsburgh in a week that Joe Burrow returns to practice. And there's an opportunity in front of this team to get back into the thick of things in the AFC North, to give themselves a shot, to show that they can find ways to find solutions over the by week. They really fall flat on their face in Pittsburgh, James. And that's what we have to discuss today is a game that could effectively end their season as the Bengals fall to three and seven with the nine and two Patriots coming to town next week.

Well, it does. It's what it does. They're not making the playoffs. You can book your Latin vacation. I don't know why I said let wherever. Spain, wherever you want to go overseas. That's just the last time I remember is you going overseas when you went on vacation, Jake. But yeah, you can book that for mid-January if you want.

we can plan that because that's what's happening. The Bengals are a bad football team. That's what bad football teams look like. I've watched plenty of them during my 34 years in existence here in Cincinnati. And this is what bad Bengals football teams look like, where it's like, oh, well, they're hanging around or, ah, well, no, they're one in seven in their past eight games. A got to have it. Everyone in the building said it was a must win.

You had the broadcast talking about how their Saturday night meeting was all about what, how they had to get this win. This is how it would stack up. This is the path. You have Joe Burrow coming back, all these things, and they do that. They score one touchdown. They never have the lead. It never feels like they're in control, even if they are in the game. And I think there's a big difference between the two. It never feels like they're the aggressor, even though the score was a one possession game at times. Right. And Zach's, Zach Taylor after the game, That's not indicative. The score's not indicative.

Well, the 27 to 12 score was certainly indicative of it. Maybe not the final touchdown. But it was. It's indicative enough, man. That's a crazy quote. That is terrible optics from Zach. I'll say that.

For sure, because they were dominated. Yeah. Like, it never felt like they were the better team ever. Never, ever, never,

ever during that game. Now, when they went back and they scored on their opening drive, it was like, oh, well, they're in it.

You know, we'll see. and then the defense gets some stops and then the offense forgets out of offense, this offense that everyone thought was just going to be superhuman, leave Joe Burrow aside, they're just going to be great forever. Well, they scored 12 points today.

And so, by the way, I think a lot of that is on Zach. You better have some answers when they take away Jamar Chase because I could have told you all week long that Jalen Rames is going to come out and want to go after Jamar, and so is Joey Porter Jr. and this secondary. They got embarrassed on national TV a month

to go. Of course they're going to want to come out and make sure that Jamar doesn't beat them. So there's so many things that we can peel back and we're not going to get them all into one show, but they're a bad football team. And that's how it looks. That doesn't mean they don't have some talented players. But when their best player isn't superhuman, they can't score or they don't score. And in their defense, I still don't know if they can tackle you. And they're certainly afraid to tackle anyone above. 6-5 apparently. Yeah, I mean, you got to be able to tackle a 300-pound tight end who catches a checkdown

on 3rd and 17. It's impossible. Like, how does that happen? I've never seen that happen. Other teams don't deal with this. How do you tackle Dornell Washington? We'll tackle him. It's your job.

That's how. It's the slowest guy on the field. Anyways. There's a lot in this one to unpack. Like you said, there's going to be ramifications, obviously, that we talk about for the rest of the week and for the rest of the season as we try to figure out the things that are worth watching for the rest of the season because we're going to continue to watch this team. We're going to continue to cover them.

And so that's our job is to tell you the things that are important for this team down the stretch. And that's what we will do the rest of the season. But in this game, one of the things that felt frustrating to me, James, is it was kind of exactly what we thought in a couple of ways. One, we talked this week about how the Steelers had changed their defense because of what the Bengals did to them. We talked about the kind of blueprint that's out there, not that it's worked, but the idea that if you can double Jammar and T, then you cloud or bracket those guys, or you give them true double doubles, and you say, okay, Andre Yosevaush, okay, Chase Brown, okay, Noah fan, okay, Drew Sample, who's invisible to Joe Flacco as he is to Joe Burrow, you guys beat us in the passing game. And they didn't.

Yosefash did a little bit early. And then after that, there weren't answers for Joe Flacco when the pressure ramped up a little bit, the offensive line didn't play as well. in this game. Orlando Brown really struggled on the left side against Nick Herbig. Jalen Rivers really struggled on the right side before he left with an injury late in this game. Marius Mims had a share of issues with T.J. Watt, who once again batted two passes and had a roughing the passer call that really changed the game. I do think that Joe Flacco looks significantly worse, and maybe he would have anyway, but correlation anyway, looked worse after taking that hit from T.J. Watt. So we knew that the Steelers were going to try to take away these top weapons for the Bengals,

and it was going to be a situation where Joe Flacken was going to have to win when his guys didn't uncover quickly and get open quickly. You couldn't go to that quick game, hit Jamar quick, hit T down the sideline quick, whatever it was going to be. They needed somebody else to step up. Didn't get enough of that early. Chase Brown finishes the game with 127 or so scrimmage yards, I think it was 127, 99, and 28. And had one explosive run, but it wasn't consistent enough for them. They didn't get anything from the backs behind them. Kendall Milton getting run ahead of Taj Brooks, which is kind of crazy in this game.

The practice squad call up at running back ahead of the six-round pick, who's on the 53-man roster. Was he just on the field for more snaps? Is that what you're saying? So he was on the field before Brooks. He got a carry before Brooks, and he had more carries than Brooks. I didn't see the final snap count. I might still have it up somewhere, and I can check that. But just to decide, point that I'm trying to make here is when the defense was getting stops early,

and one of the reasons is so frustrating is because Aaron Rogers gave you those chances. Like the Pittsburgh worries that Aaron Rogers was falling off a cliff and that he maybe just didn't have it did kind of come true in this game and they couldn't take advantage because the offense fell off its own cliff. And as we, as we're saying, like really came back down to earth and some of those cracks that they were showing really showed up. Yeah, that's. that's when you needed to be prepared for this one for the offense to come back a little bit

but to have some kind of answer and it feels like maybe I'm wrong maybe we'll feel differently in another day the most creative thing they did was go Wildcat with Chase Brown in a situation where I hate doing that because the one thing the Steelers are great at

isn't their secondary regardless Joy Porter Jr. is not a great corner Jalen Ramsey's not great. anymore. But that defensive front's great. And so to say, hey, we're going to take the ball out of Joe Flacco's hands. We're going to put them at receiver. And our offensive line is going to beat your defensive front for a yard. And we're going to do it right now. Like a lot of people would be like, yeah, football. I'm like, uh, probably dumb. Probably not the smartest thing to do. That's not where you win. And that just doesn't work. They didn't work, man. I hated that

play. I didn't mind the decision to go hate Michael. Me too. I hated it. And, And so those are the type of moments. Yeah, I love the idea because it felt like it was going to be a shootout at that time. Yep. You go up eight, seven, you feel like you get a little momentum. You only need to go one. Like I get it. Chase Brown, by the way, wasn't throwing that at all.

Like I know someone said, oh, he should have thrown it. It's like that wasn't part of it. Maybe one day, but it was not it. But it's frustrating because I think the offense probably knew they were going to have to get to 30 take care of the ball and get to 30 that's probably where they were at and they scored one touchdown and that's just it's not going to get it done this defense isn't unless you get handed three turnovers and two of them go for for scores that's just not going to work on offense well they gave up two touchdowns which i know you know games over by the time the second one

comes around but the defense honestly for all of the flack we've given them and rightly so in the way they played in the second half as a continuation of this. They could not get a stop in the Bengals. Continued to need it in the second half when Mason Rudolph entered the game. I joked at the time that it might not be a downgrade and it wasn't a downgrade. Aaron Rogers was not playing well. The offense for the Steelers got better when Mason Rudolph entered the game. That cannot happen.

But the defense early in this game did give the Bengals some chances. There are a few performances that I do want to highlight on that side of the ball, but it's another example of complimentary football, just not existing. this team as we continue the conversation as the bengal season effectively ends in pittsburg coming up next today's show is brought to by mint mobile if you're still overpaying for wireless it's time to say yes to saying no at mitt mobile their favorite word is no no contracts no monthly bills no overages no hidden fees no bs you know what mint mobile needs a no miss tackles policy for the bengals and to put that at paycourt stadium it makes it simple it all plans come with a

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Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan taxes and fees extra. C. Mint Mobile for details. The defense did not finish this game well. But at one point, we're like six straight punts early in this game, which is what happens when your offense doesn't capitalize with the Steelers. After scoring an opening drive touchdown went punt, punt, punt, field goal aided by like three defensive penalties that were automatic first downs. So they didn't finish a half great.

But those three punts in the first half, and one of them coming after a very questionable spot on a fourth down conversion granted to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was wild to me in the moment and still is. That was a huge. They didn't. That was a huge moment, though. It was.

For an offense that stunk, if you give them the ball on the Steelers 38 and that kind of momentum, well, maybe Jamar does make a play. maybe they do find a way to magically scheme him open and get him open when the Steelers are trying to take him away, or it's T, or maybe it's Noah fan over the middle, or Chase Brown breaks one in scores. And just like that, the game feels much different. So I did think that was a huge moment. You're right. The spot was ridiculous.

I don't know what they were seeing. The review shouldn't have had to have a review. They shouldn't have had to challenge that. So just ridiculous. But it doesn't change the point. you're right. The defense forced three straight punts, gave this offense a chance to seize the moment on the road. And they did that. The last time we've seen the defense do that was against the Steelers. At the end of the first half a month ago, when they forced a couple of turnovers and the offense, what did they do?

They did take advantage of it. They did score points. They did put pressure on Pittsburgh. And the Bengals didn't. They could not get going on offense. And that's when I was like, all right, how is this going to work? Like if this isn't the Jamar Day, and it didn't really feel like the Jamar Day, even early on. All right, was it going to be T? Well, they certainly don't want to get beat by T again.

They just gave up a 28-yard touchdown to him. Andre Yosevash on their opening drive had two of those third down conversions over the middle. I'm like, all right, well, maybe it's Yoshi time, and it was just no time for nobody. And that's painful because that's really, when you look at the game, that's when you got to go get points.

And if you get points there, then maybe it flips it a little bit. Not that you weren't in it, not that you didn't have other opportunities, but that stretch where you force three straight punts and you don't get anything painful. And Miles Murphy had a really good game, which is maybe crazy for some people to hear.

I noticed them. I noticed them multiple times, even in the first drive of the game when they gave up the touchdown. Compressed the pocket multiple times, including on that first drive of the game, was making things uncomfortable for Aaron Rogers was part of the reason

that Rogers was misfiring on some of those throws. I don't think Rogers was good in this game even when he wasn't pressured. But when Rogers was in the game, the Bengals were getting pressure to him consistently. And at one point, I looked, and he had been pressured on like 40% of his dropbacks or so, according to PFF live charting that finished at 60% of Rogers' dropbacks where he was pressured. And that's all obviously early in the game. The problem becomes when Mason Rudolph enters a game, the Bengals only get home on 12%. of his dropbacks.

And Mason Rudolph throwing the ball on average less than three yards downfield. And despite throwing the ball on average less than three yards downfield and converting checkdowns into third and 17 conversions, third and 10 conversion, third and 10 conversion, the leading receivers in this game for both teams were Kenneth Gainwell and Darnell, Washington. And this is a game that features Steve Higgins and Jamar Chase and what Chase Brown has done lately. And you could even throw some of the Steelers guys into the mix with D.K. Metcalfe. But the tail of two halves really an issue.

defense was more of who they were in the second half. Barrett Carter had issues throughout this game again. But I did want to credit at least Miles Murphy. And I thought Joseph Osai at times was showing a little bit more in this game. When in the first half, when Aaron Rogers was in the game, the Bengals were getting consistent pressure home. The penalties were not great penalties. Osai hits Rogers in the head.

Murphy falls into his butt. And that's a questionable call perhaps. But don't do it. like yeah you know yeah for sure avoidable yeah avoidable plays they uh there were some bright spots and that's what sucks that's what sucks about being three and seven right if they had handled business against even the jets and it it feels a little different because we can look at the bright spots and you'd be like all right well there's next week and well there will be a next week and the sun will come up tomorrow and all of those good things they're three and seven

Yeah. Like it just, it's, it's painful. And in the, the thing that's frustrating for me about this defense, they invested so much at linebacker. I think they have the worst linebackers in the NFL by like a large margin. I think Barrett Carter was, what's worse than awful? You know more words than I do, Jake. Do it.

Describe Barrett Carter today. How about despicable? I find with despicable like Pat Friermuth got your ankles yeah what are you doing like what do you do

Kenneth Gainwell looked like prime Christian McCaffrey yeah he just just jogs out there just jogs out there you kidding me no and so there were some bright spots and I'm glad you hit on them

but man oh man I put Miles Murphy a linebacker too because he's going to react the same way Barrett would. It's unbelievable. The inability to get guys on the ground in this game for the guys that have been unable to get guys on the ground throughout the season. Continued, Barrett Carter, missing a bunch of tackles. Geno Stowe missing a bunch of tackles.

Warren Berks, who played a little bit more this week. Well, unfortunately, he's also missing tackles. Josh Newton missing tackles out there. A bit of a redemption game for Jordan Battle in the tackling department, at least. He did miss a couple snaps. He left with injury for a brief moment in the game, but I thought it was a better game for Jordan. in battle, especially as a tackler.

Demetrius Knight, I thought also in a reduced role, looked a little bit better, and we'll see if that can persist for him. But the bottom line is, is when you have Aaron Rogers kind of reeling in the first half, and then Mason Rudolph enters a game, and I can say unironically, and like only halfway joking, like, Rogers isn't playing great. This might not be a downgrade. That's probably bad news. And when Mason Rudolph can go out there and they can get under,

they can start handing the ball off a bunch, running screens, go and play action, and then you have no answers. Like I said, Mason Rudolph, we have him at 8.1 yards per attempt on an average depth of target of 2.9. That's a whole lot of mistackles in yards after catch, and that includes a third and 17, third and 10,

third and 10 conversions on checkdowns, which is, you know, the defense reverted to form in the second half, which is like, what can you even say after a game like this other than how you started, which is to say that they're not a good team, And at 3 and 7, you have to accept that this is who they are. It should be impossible for those third down conversions.

Like, you stumble into that. If you take control in Madden, the computer will stumble into a tackle on one of those checkdowns. Like to force you to punt. Like even if you put the controller down on defense, computer will get you a tackle. I, uh, it's, it's wild. And I do think that. that there were a few different turning points or potential turning points that the Bengals didn't take advantage of that could have been major turning points and uh i want to mention a few

i also i just ripped the linebackers and it's not just barrett carter by the way i mean orrin berks tackle kennethkin walma too uh demetrius knight you notice demetrius night out there i thought he was a little bit better today yeah i did i did think he was a little bit better today and we'll see if that continues and we'll see he certainly wasn't the worst of the group which there you go There's little positivity, but there's a couple turning points. Yeah. Or potential turning points I want to get to. And then I got to talk about our guy, Gino, because I don't know what the hell he was doing.

We'll do that coming up next. The NBA is back. And if you don't want to focus on the NFL season right now, well, Fandall is going to spice up the NBA. I watched, Jake, I watched Steph Curry just go nuclear the other day on Victor Webbenyama and the San Antonio Spurs. And that's the beauty of the NBA. The spurs were in control of that game. And then Steph Curry said, no, I'm going to drop 49. And I'm going to score a bunch of points.

And I'm going to lead my team to win. And that's the fun part about Fando if you bet on the NBA. Let's say you missed the start of the game. That's all right. Fendell has live bets from everything on. Who's going to score next? Fourth quarter comebacks? Same game parlays.

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Gino, let's start with Gino. I was going to get to the turning points, but Gino real quick. You ever seen someone that doesn't want to tackle as much as him? I get that you're giving up 100 pounds in that matchup. I don't care. But that was going to be my next set of words. Like, that's your job, man. That's your job. Push him out of bounds.

He's so, he's so light on his feet that you have to, no, like he's on the sideline. So the first one, the first darnow Washington one is the one that infuriates me the most. When he stiff arms Barrett Carter, I would much rather be Barrett Carter on that play than Gino. Because it looks like, Gino's like, please don't make me a highlight. Please don't make me a highlight. come on man and then it sets DJ up for a nightmare but guess what DJ at least stood up to him you get thrown who cares as long as you get him out of bounds and he did so gino you're killing me i think people know that i i don't know why you would i really at this point i do not know

why you would stick with him because you need someone that can tackle like that's it and they don't have it yeah you wanted to get some turning points as well or potential turning points that did not turning point well you were talking about the mason rudolph stuff and like how does that not how does that not become a oh man well this defense we're not going to be we're not going to regress to who we were we're not going up against erin rogers anymore this is mason rudolph let's fly around let's make tackles let let's make him beat us and forced two second half turnovers and get the hell out of here with a win.

Like the moment that Aaron Rogers doesn't come out for the second half and you realize you're going up against Mason Rudolph, that defense should have been salivating like crazy. They should have been so hungry to get back on that field and face Mason Rudolph. And it just didn't feel like at all. It just felt so easy. And I don't know,

I assume everyone is to blame. players, coaches, skate, like everything. Because this was supposed to be the, oh my God, we have to get this game. And you let Mason Rudolph just dump it off 12, 12 of 16, dump it off 12 times. And rack up a bunch of yards and points and enough to lead the Steelers to victory. They had no business doing that. When Mason came in, it was 10 to 9. He left the game.

It was 34 to 12. That's another thing that should be impossible. and yet it happened. The Steelers had two offensive possessions in the second half. They had 17 plays with Mason Rudolph before taking Anita to end the game. Those 17 plays went for 127 yards and 10 points. In between those, we had Joe Flacco's first interception, a Bengals field goal. Sorry, the pick six, the field goal, and then the Noah Fant touchdown.

So it's not like there were a ton of opportunities. but the Bengals also didn't get a stop as soon as Mason Rudolph came into the game. And that should have made things easier. You're right. But the Steelers were able to run the ball. The Bengals stopped tackling. They were already having tackling issues, I think. They got worse.

And I was going to mention another one if we're talking about turning points that the Bengals did not take advantage of. Yep. The referee intervention aside, which we talked about earlier, after the Bengals called a timeout with a minute 37 left in the second quarter in the second quarter with a Steelers facing a third and four the Bengals got pretty good pressure to Aaron Rogers on that third and four yep and then Aaron Rogers escaped and scrambled for eight yards the Steelers would go on to draw a defensive pass interference penalty on the next play commit an offensive pass interference on the following play but then Miles Murphy falls into Aaron Rogers but for a free 50s 15 yards and a first down for the Steelers. And a couple plays later, Joseph Osai hits him in the helmet. Pittsburgh eventually scores a field goal. If instead you get that stop, you get the ball back,

perhaps you steal some points before the half and get the ball back out of the half, and perhaps things go a little bit differently with Mason Rudolph in the game, maybe needing to chase instead of trying to defend a lead. Who knows? I mean, maybe things really go off the rails down the stretch anyway. Maybe Joe Flacco still throws a pick six. who knows, but those are moments that the Bengals had opportunities they didn't take advantage of. And that's obviously a big one is the pick six, just not seeing Dugger there throwing it.

I mean, it completely changes it. You're in scoring range. Yeah. To be fair, he did get hit. That affected the throw. He had a quick win from T.J. Watt on the play. He had a quick win up the middle on that play. I think Jalen River.

So the pressure definitely affected that throw. But rough interception. The other one. is, and we haven't talked about it yet, but it's the Jamar Jalen Ramsey. Yeah, that's going to end up badly for the Bengals. Well, when you get 15, when you get a 15 yard penalty and the guy, so now Aaron Rogers is out and now Jalen Ramsey's out, who's literally the identity of that secondary.

Like clearly he's coming in there and he's trying to make, embrace it and be a big part of what they do. And he's out. All of the stuff aside, what, who did what, all those things, throw it aside. I'm talking about football. That's a huge moment. And I don't think they picked up another first down. They had to settle for a field goal and they used two timeouts.

Yeah, it was worse than not getting another first down. They have to immediately take a timeout because they're trying to draw the Steelers off sides. And then they get the 15 yard penalty. And then they can't get a play and they have to call a timeout. And I think they end up losing yards because they had some penalties. Yeah. I mean, after that, it was really bad. Awful.

Oh, yeah. There's a sack and then a penalty. But yes, they did go backwards after the ejection. So that could have been a moment, too. And it wasn't. It was the opposite. It was, oh. And then the Steelers calmly went down, I believe.

You're right. They didn't have any possessions, but then they scored. So, yeah, it sucks because those are the moments you need to take advantage of. And they didn't. And you're right. It is going to end up bad for the Bengals because Fox 19, I think, has the best video of this. Austin just crushing it.

I believe Austin's one who posted it. But yeah, just it's pretty clear what happened. Put it that way. There were allegations after the game from Jalen Ramsey that Jamar chase spit on him. There appears to be video evidence of this. If there is a precedent and there is Jalen Carter earlier this year, would not be shocked if there's a white. game suspension coming for Jamar Chase.

So insult to injury there, however you want to phrase it. Not something that Jamar Chase is going to be proud of, I think. But things were obviously heated between those guys, the entire game, James. Yeah. Yeah. And I saw that people were kind of saying, oh, that's what happened. I don't know how anyone would have known that without having that kind of angle. Like I saw like grainy TV stuff.

And I was like, I can't tell anything. You just can't tell. But yeah, I think hefty, hefty fine, but would not shock me if a suspension is coming. And by the way, I'm surprised that wasn't like video reviewed in the moment. Because had they ejected both of those guys then, then I don't think Jamar would be suspended next week. Like, I would completely rule it out. But now that he stayed in the game, which didn't end up mattering at all because they didn't take advantage of that moment, now could cost them against

against New England next week. I believe Carter was ejected from that game in the first quarter and then suspended the following week anyway? Was he? I'm not sure about that. He was ejected in the first quarter. I didn't realize he was suspended in the following week. I believe he got a one game suspension.

He did not appeal. But I could be wrong. If you hear me typing, it's because I'm looking it up. He received a one game suspension considers his ejection before the first way to have served the suspension. So you're right. He did not serve an extra game of suspension.

They counted that game as a suspension. So who knows how that would have worked out. But we'll obviously have eyes on that process, kind of secondary. I mean, technically their playoff hopes aren't over. But realistically, they are, Jamar missing a game against the nine and two Patriots. Isn't going to make that any easier. Now what's going to be interesting is like how we view it. it versus how they view it, how they act and react.

Like, Mike Asicki's getting close. Obviously, we know about Joe Burrow. Yeah. Like, they're going to try. Like, Trey Hendrickson, we have, we have more on him to dive into, I think. So there's, there's a lot of, it's going to be interesting. I don't know if it means anything. I still think you're mid-January vacation to save Jake.

But overall, I do think it's, there's going to be plenty of storylines and intrigue because of Joe Burrow and Zach Taylor and all of the things that go into the 2025 Bengals. Yeah, like how drastic are changes that could potentially come this offseason. There are guys that even like I said this earlier, like even if they do everything that you're dreaming, ownership, that they could do this off season. Hire the coach of your choice and if you want them to move on from Zach Taylor. Hire the GM of your choice if you want them to move on from Duke Tobin. And this is a bigger conversation.

We'll get into another day, James. But even if they do all of those things, there's players. on this roster that are going to still be on the roster next year. And so those guys are going to be guys that we're going to be watching as well. As these storylines you're talking about, like Joe Burroughs return, other guys that are getting healthier, how Zach and this coaching staff handle the rest of the year and how this ownership group handles another season that's got to be way off of their expectations and really doesn't show signs of life or hope.

Like, what are you really hoping for the rest of this way? from the ownership perspective, like what is there, like you're talking about how they see it, like what are they hoping to see the rest of the season versus, you know, the best long-term case of potentially fans envisioned. So they're probably hoping seven and oh. Of course. Sneaking. You know, it's just, it's just so unrealistic.

Yeah. It's so unrealistic. Well, we talked about it this week, right? The defense has kind of shown us who they are worried about things falling off of the offense eventually those things come to fruition but they still have what seven games to play so we will of course continue to have you covered here as the bengals continue to play football games we're not going always as part of the number one sports podcast network out there you'll find lockdown bengals everywhere you get your podcast of course but that's going to do it for this episode

of the lockdown bengals podcast we're back with you for the rest of the week of course Until then, thanks for listening. Have a good one.