Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Joe Flacco is an upgrade, but Bengals drop 4th straight

Episode Date: October 13, 2025

There are no moral victories in the NFL, the Bengals took too long to figure out how to get their offense going, and the defense wilted in the second half. But Joe Flacco is a clear upgrade over Jake ...Browning, they seemed to find answers in the second half as Flacco settled in. Jake Liscow and James Rapien break it down after another Bengals lose their 4th straight without Joe Burrow.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!Mint MobileReady to say yes to saying no?Make the switch at https://MintMobile.com/LOCKEDONNFLUpfront payment of $45 required (equivalent to $15/mo). Limited-time new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speeds may slow above 35GB on Unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at https://BetterHelp.com/lockedon.BILTTurn your rent into rewards and start earning points around your neighborhood by going to https://joinbilt.com/lockedonnfl.Supply HouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order.PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.RugietReady to level up your confidence in the bedroom? Head to https://www.rugiet.com and use promo code LOCKEDONNFL for 15% off your first order.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.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Bengals have lost four games in a row without Joe Burrow, and that's really bad. But Joe Flacco showed that he's an upgrade at the quarterback position. Let's break down what that means, even though the Bengals lost to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What on, Bengals fans, and welcome to another episode of the Locked On Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. I'm Jake. I'm Jake. Let's go. He's James Rapine and we're your host of Blacktown Bengals.
Starting point is 00:00:40 And together we've been doing this show since 2016. It's a great one-stop shop for all things Bengals as they continue to try to find their path forward without Joe Burrow and bringing in Joe Flacco seems to be a step in the right direction. And things aren't good. Don't get me wrong. It's not like everything is fine now, but we'll talk about that step in the right direction on offense in today's episode brought to you by Mazdev when you make every move count pulling off the unexpected is only the beginning. Stay tuned later for this week's moving the game forward by Mazda, move and be moved. And James, it was an ugly first half for the most part.
Starting point is 00:01:18 Ended zero at the half, not what you want. Unable to crack the scoring column was this offense in the first half. But the defense started out with a takeaway. They forced to punt early. Then the second half, you start to see some signs of life from the offense, which is crucial and necessary. and this made-over defense that now no longer features Logan Wilson and linebacker kind of wilts it in the second half.
Starting point is 00:01:41 So complimentary football, not really there for this team today. But despite the loss, I think you and I both expected this game to go probably quite a bit worse than it did. Every Day, or shout out to every day, or out there heard us talk about that in this preview. There wasn't a whole lot of faith that they would be able to get close to covering in this game. And instead, it's actually somewhat interesting in the second half. Well, then maybe I was a bit more optimistic than you, but no, I thought that this offense went through it and you saw the evolution of it. And it's tough because for a bunch of reasons as to why they would be slow again. But my main takeaway from tonight is they have a real quarterback.
Starting point is 00:02:25 They have a real guy. Now, that doesn't mean they have a superstar guy or a pro bowl guy or whatever you would want to say Joe Burr. is, but he's not a backup guy. And that matters. That matters a lot when your offense is, and really your team is built around your offense. Like if the Bengals are going to be good, if they're going to be good at any point this year, it's going to be because the offense is a big reason why. And yeah, today the path for them winning involved and would have had to involve the defense, getting more than one takeaway, getting more than one big stop, having multiple splash plays, finding a way to get a stop in the second half, or get off the
Starting point is 00:03:04 field when it's third and eight with 231 left. My goodness, 231 left letting Matthew Golden run free. It's a golden breakout game for the rookie first round pickup for the Packers. But they needed a quarterback. That's why they made the move for Joe Flacco. I get why people were like, oh, well, what about this guy or that guy or this guy or that guy? I think Joe showed you that he is capable, that he can run this offense, that he is able to make the right reason. I mean, his longest pass was 19 yards. I don't think that's going to continue. I think they're going to be able to push the ball a little bit more. Jamar Chase talked after the game about how he had like 12 reps with Joe Flacco this week.
Starting point is 00:03:44 Like 12. And on that touchdown pass, that was Jamar changing the play. Jamar told me like, yeah, I changed the play. Sometimes I do that. Change the play based on what they were doing. They were running in cloud coverage and putting a safety over the top and he was able to make a huge play. Joe Flacco gives them an opportunity to make those plays, whether it's T. Higgins or Jamar Chase,
Starting point is 00:04:08 and the list goes on and on. And so that's a huge plus. Does that make up for the loss? No. But when you go big picture, which a lot of people have been doing over this four-game losing streak, and rightfully so, big picture 2025 Cincinnati Bengals,
Starting point is 00:04:29 the hope that came with Joe Flack. during that trade on Tuesday, well, we see why it brought hope to that locker room because he's a clear upgrade like you mentioned and he gives them a chance. It doesn't take away from the loss. The Bengals are two and four. They've lost four straight for the first time since 2020. I mean, that sucks, but it's the reality right now. And that includes the previous Jake Browning experience where we didn't see that level of
Starting point is 00:04:56 utility and certainly that's what it was with Jake Browning this time around. And that's why they started with him, of course, and why they have to make the move is that it didn't work the same way. But I think what we saw from Flacco in this game, James, is exactly what I kind of thought we would see. He was going to be able to get them all to the right guy at the right time, especially when he was protected. And the protection was bad in the first half,
Starting point is 00:05:19 but really improved in the second half, which is the opposite of the way it's been for the most part this year. I thought Orlando Brown, outside of getting beat clean, one play. Besides, that was pretty good in this game. I thought Dalton Reisner filled in, very amarably at left guard. Jalen Rivers got picked on a little bit,
Starting point is 00:05:36 especially by Michael Parsons, when Michael Parsons started picking his mark a little bit. But the protection really improved in the second half of this game. And when that happened, and when they got the running game going a little bit, you started to see, okay, Joe Flacco can hit his back foot and get the ball out to the right guy at the right time. And they can get the ball moving in the quick game,
Starting point is 00:05:54 and he's not just going to totally disintegrate in the pocket. I thought he was relatively good in the pocket, it wasn't frenetic, wasn't panicked, as you would expect, with his level of experience in the NFL. And the second half was, frankly, pretty solid from Flacco, where the first half, maybe at times he was a little bit sped up or maybe at times he didn't know where, or wasn't able to get the offense into the right plays at the right times.
Starting point is 00:06:20 I think that's something that will improve when he's had more than a couple days of practice. And maybe it'll take a couple more weeks because, again, short week going into the Pittsburgh game. But we saw roughly what I thought we thought. see from Flacko insofar as the understanding of the offense, what it's trying to do, where the ball should go, when it should go there, the ability to deliver when he is on platform, the ability to manage the pocket, manage the offense, and approach it with the kind of veteran poise that
Starting point is 00:06:48 this team really needed after the kind of panicked play, they were getting largely from Jake Browning way too much. And I think that even goes to his presser after the game. I came away from that press. We're pretty impressed with the way Flacco thinks about the game, the way he reflected on the performance, the way he thinks about his role as a veteran with this team. And if that's what you get, well, if there is a chance Joe Burrow can get back later this year,
Starting point is 00:07:13 then there's like a glimmer of hope for this team to get things on track. And I think, you know, you point out, he can get the ball to these guys, only 12 reps with Jamar Chase, then he gets 12 targets in this game. T. Higgins, eight targets in this game. And one of the things we've really been asking for over the last few weeks is going to get to more and T going a little bit.
Starting point is 00:07:33 And finally, with a quarterback that actually is an NFL quarterback, they get enough targets to get something going with their star receivers. Yeah, that's how they're going to win games. Like, it is. I mean, they need to get those guys the ball. That's why the offense looked so much better in the second half. And that first drive was a grind. coming out of the half.
Starting point is 00:07:59 And they were able to make it work. 17 plays, 78 yards. Joe Flack goes 6 of 9 for 50 yards in a touchdown. He was 8 of 15 for 40 yards in the first half. And then the drive to start the second half goes 6 of 9 and starts to get the ball to the playmakers. They start to move the change and it starts to move. And I'm like, oh, well, this is what it's supposed to look like. And they overcame.
Starting point is 00:08:26 And I think this is a big point. They overcome a false start. They get it down to the one. Nice play by T. Higgins. Overcome a false start. And I believe there was a sack on that play as well. Pushed them back to the 10. And then on fourth down from,
Starting point is 00:08:39 it was really the three yard line. I don't know why they marked it at the two. Everything says two. But it was basically a three yard touchdown pass to Tanner Hudson, certainly closer to the three than the two. That was a huge play in poise under pressure. And if this defense, man, oh man. If this defense just would have gotten one stop,
Starting point is 00:08:57 like the offense gave them a chance. And in the first half, the defense gave the offense a chance, and they just couldn't take advantage. And like that has to change now, but that's different than what we've seen in past weeks. Like that is much different. Like a potential chance in the second half for the first time since Jacksonville, where like there's actually a game to talk about and not just a blowout at halftime.
Starting point is 00:09:21 No doubt. No doubt. And this could have went that way. It could have. and I do think that they deserve credit for that. I do think that there's a lot of negative that will hit on as well. But overall, when you're talking about going into Lambo with a quarterback that wasn't on your roster six days prior and just started practicing, and you've lost three straight games, and Trey Hendrickson gets hurt, and Mike is sicky. Like, there's a lot going against you.
Starting point is 00:09:50 And so for them to make it competitive and be in it and really be one stop. away from putting a ton of pressure on Green Bay, I think that that's a really reasonable spot to be in, and it is encouraging. And so we have plenty of more to talk about when it comes to this game, and certainly this offense with Joe Flacco, we'll do that coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by Mizan and Maine. You know the saying, look good, feel good. The problem is that most dress clothes only check one of those boxes. They look sharp, but feel stiff, hot, high maintenance. That's why there's Mizzen and Maine. Mizzin and Maine makes classic men's wear with performance fabric, so it's effortless to look sharp and feel comfortable.
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Starting point is 00:11:02 Promocode Locked on NFL 20 for 20% off. If you'd rather shop in person, you could find Mizan in Maine in select states. We're also brought to you today by Mazda. Mazda's moving the game forward for those who believe it's not just about playing the game. It's about redefining it. There are moments to do more than put points on the board.
Starting point is 00:11:21 They move crowds. They move culture. And they keep moving. the game forward and the Bengals have been desperate for something to move their offense forward and may have found it with Joe Flacco. I think there's a ways to go for this offense and Joe Flacco, but the way the offense moved the ball in the second half, the way that Joe Flacco was able to deliver the ball on time to the Bengals playmakers deserves some credit and might give the Bengals what they need to move forward as their offense really needs to find their way.
Starting point is 00:11:54 If you are also interested in moving the game forward, you just need to follow what moves you. The unexpected is only the beginning. And boy, would it have been unexpected had the Bengals been able to pull this one out. Just like there's more to every highlight, there's more to a Mazda vehicle. Mazda move and be moved. It obviously wasn't all good by any stretch for this offense. And it was really frustrating early on, Jake. And that's something that has to change.
Starting point is 00:12:27 When I say like, oh, well, if they're going to win, it's going to be because of their offense. How about you score some points in the first half? How about you get a touchdown? They haven't scored their last touchdown in the first half, Jake, was when Joe Burrow found Jamar Chase for a four yard score at Paycourt Stadium in week two. They've been outscored 79 to 9 in the first half in the first half. And so you're giving up 20 points on average per half. and you're scoring a whopping two and a half. 20 to two and a half is the average.
Starting point is 00:13:00 And I get it. It's weird with the Minnesota game and all those things. But starting out that way, you're just very rarely going to have a chance. And they finally had a chance today. But if they had gotten off to a better start after that interception and they go punch it in or they go get points, I feel like that game script was there for them
Starting point is 00:13:19 and this offense wasn't ready to deliver. Yeah, it was a little disappointing to see how they answered after the defense steals an interception when the Packers are moving the ball. Like the Packers moved the ball essentially the entire game. The Packers maybe got stopped on one drive. In the entire game, there was one three and out, which was the Packers' third drive of the game.
Starting point is 00:13:37 They also had a punt after five plays, but that was after a 41-yard drive. It was five-plays, 41 yards, and then the Bengals got off the field. That was right before the half, and the 67-yard field goal that wasn't. But then in the second half, it was touchdown, touchdown, field goal, end of game for the Packers.
Starting point is 00:13:54 that's like game winning field goal essentially, making it a two-score game. So like when you have that opportunity of the first half going back to the first half offense, you can't have your first four drives go three plays, one yard, five plays, 17 yards, three plays, five yards, three plays minus two yards. You can't have your first drive go jet sweeper, Jamar Chase, can't turn it up field into a third and 13 run into a third and forever checkdown because you're giving up because, you know, you're not asking Joe Flacko to go out there and convert a third and 13 on the first drive of the game,
Starting point is 00:14:23 unless something really good happens for your offense and the Green Bay Packers bust the coverage or something like that. So the excuse could be, Black has only been in the building for three days. Maybe it took a little bit of time to figure it out, to get things going. Reasonable. Totally reasonable.
Starting point is 00:14:42 But the trend over the four games of setting first halves on fire, mostly on offense, but kind of entirely does need to change. they need to find their answers a little bit faster or much faster. They need to come out of the gate on these scripted drives better. And to the defense's credit, they got their second stop on an offensive, on a first opposing possession this week. They got that interception, but then you have to capitalize on it. So that's, I think, that the next step for the offense,
Starting point is 00:15:15 we saw that Joe Flacko can play competent quarterback when he is protected. Now is a big difference in the second. in half. They got the run game going a little bit. They protected him. And when he was able to just be relatively clean and make queen quick decisions, the offense look good, but they got to get to that stuff faster. You can't have this, you know, I feel like we've been talking about this for years now, this entire lack of complementary football where only one unit is performing reasonably well at any given time. Yeah. That's it. That's it. And it's, to me, it is a bit weird. that the scripted stuff hasn't been better like because it's been a theme now like you'd think like
Starting point is 00:15:58 jake browning would have been better with the scripted stuff and then he would have wilted joe flacco it's it's really tough to judge i mean we've looked how many times did joe bro say how important every training camp rep was in all in preseason reps and all those things joe flaco has none of that like he barely got any practice reps so that that is a reason i don't think it's necessarily an excuse. I do think it's a reason, but it can't be, it can't be when you make the decision to start Flacco, you have to be able to weather that storm and still find a way to get some points, like some points. Like if they had scored a touchdown or kicked a couple of field goals in the first half, it feels much different and there's more pressure on the Packers. And who knows,
Starting point is 00:16:50 We might be talking about Joe Flacco being the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to beat the same team with two different teams in the same season. Like it's that has to change. Like starting fast, we, the Zach Taylor success really throughout his tenure always comes with starting fast. He loves playing that way. He talks about it all the time. He talks about it behind the scenes. I know that they have to start games faster on offense. And that's where, like, especially if your defense is able to get a turnover,
Starting point is 00:17:24 where I'm hoping in the next evolution of like this flackal offense is like, well, the play action deep ball can come in the play. His longest pass is 19 yards. And I get it. The Packers pass rush and all those things you're doing quick game. Like, I get it. But I'm hoping that this is just kind of the start in the evolution can hit the ground running a bit. But they got to start scoring points in the first quarter.
Starting point is 00:17:47 I don't even want to say first half. Can you get some points in the first quarter? Yeah, I mean, they were on the field for two minutes in the first quarter. So probably need to do better than that too. Two minutes. It was two to 13 in the first quarter. It was like 20 something to like five at one point. It was bad in the first half.
Starting point is 00:18:06 And there was time left in the first half. There's like five minutes left in the first half. I was like, this first half is going to end with a 13 to two time of possession advantage for the Packers, isn't it? And then it did. One encouraging staff for Joe Flacco before we shift gears, talk about this defense a little bit, the intermediate part of the field, a huge success for Joe Flacco in this game.
Starting point is 00:18:24 He had passes inside the numbers, outside the numbers, and overall was six of eight on passes aim between 10 and 19 yards for 80 yards and both of his touchdowns. One of those tight window, second reaction throw to Tanner Hudson where he starts looking right, comes back to the middle of the field,
Starting point is 00:18:40 finds Tanner Hudson for the touchdown, and then the absolutely preposterous play for Jamar Chase, where if he's talking about being clouded, I assume the change he said he made to that play is that outside release where he really pushes out toward the sideline, then works back toward the ball. That takes that safety over the top out of the play a little bit because it's harder to stay over the top
Starting point is 00:18:59 when the receiver is that far outside. And so you kind of get yourself into a bit of a one-on-one if you're expecting that safety help over the top. And just generally, I think, pretty impressive game for Jamar Chase, given the week he had with the illness and the lack of work with Joe Flacco. get that from Joe Flacco and you can keep him clean as much as the Bengals did, according to PFF, 72% of his dropbacks clean. You can get competent quarterback play from Joe Flacco.
Starting point is 00:19:25 But then on the other side of the ball, especially with the Trey Hendrickson injury, the second half, really a disaster for this defense for the most part. And like I said, only a couple stops in the game early on. Would have loved to have seen the offense make good on those chances. This is again, two straight weeks where you're talking about the defense, getting a couple stops in the first half before they wilt in the second half. But there are some problems on this defense, James, despite one particular real bright spot in this game we can talk about, a lot of areas for concern as the Bengals were making some changes on that side of the ball.
Starting point is 00:19:56 And we'll go to that topic here coming up next. This episode of Lockdown Bengals is brought to you by Supply House when the opening whistle blows on a new repair. You can get your crew moving forward with Supply House. You can order today and see parts on your door. step tomorrow. Over 280,000 plumbing, HVAC, and electrical items from the most trusted brands in the business and the real-time inventory. Their honest lead times will keep you from punting projects while their industry leading customer service always has your blind
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Starting point is 00:21:48 And again, put down $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. What are you waiting for? Visit fandel.com to download the Fandoat today and get started. So we got big changes on this defense, James. Logan Wilson no longer a starting linebacker, Barrett Carter with the green dot. Didn't miss a play. I don't think he or Barrett Carter or, sorry, Barrett Carter or Demetrius Knight played, particularly good games as they were being put in there for the veteran Logan Wilson,
Starting point is 00:22:15 who only had 11 snaps in this game. Also, the Trey Hendrickson injury, incredibly notable. Maybe the Bengals get that stop they need with Trey Hendrickson on the field on that third and nine in the fourth quarter. But the problems on multiple levels of this defense, I think are compounding where you're not getting enough outside of Trey in the pass rush, although I do give them credit for manufacturing some pressure on Jordan Love in this game, only one sack but moved him off his spot a fair amount in this game made him use his legs and he did effectively but they also created an interception that way and did get the sack to give them a chance to get off the field on that third and nine but between issues of safety one or two corner spots depending on how you look at it the linebacker play
Starting point is 00:22:59 and the the shuffle that we have going on there the continuous lack of pressure from too many guys on this defensive line And it's a lot for Al Golden to contend with. And I'm not convinced that Al Golden is doing like the optimal job. But even if you were, there are some real issues on this defense that DJ Turner was great. But they need some other guys to start playing better if they're going to put together some consistency. They need real playmakers. Like they just don't have, they don't have playmakers. They don't have those guys.
Starting point is 00:23:31 And third and eight, you're right. Game on the line. Trey Andrickson's hurt. Who were you? Who was on your mind, Jake, as like, all right, well, this guy's going to make this play. Yeah, I mean, you're hoping they go back to DJ Turner so he can collect his fifth pass break of the game or something, you know? Sure, yeah, like, but like, yeah, it's like you're hoping. And even then, like, would it shock you if DJ Turner gave up a play?
Starting point is 00:23:54 No, even though he's great today. I agree with you. Like, that's what's tough is they just, like, I think Daxil is good. I think DJ Turner's coming on strong. Gino Stone made some plays. But without Trey Hendrickson and you start two rookie linebackers, and I think that's probably a decent reason why the Packers had so much success on the ground, but we'll see.
Starting point is 00:24:17 I just, it's tough searching for answers. And that's why it's so frustrating in the first half, when you do get what you got out of this defense, that the offense couldn't take advantage. That's why I still default to this offense is going to be. why they win games because I don't know where especially let's say let's say they don't have trail Thursday night that's a real third and eight against Aaron Rogers game on the line like is someone getting to him or is he going to hold up against D.K. Metcalfe you know same in and that's
Starting point is 00:24:51 it right and that that's frustrating and uh they might not have the horses but what what I will say is you really need that guy 97 back Shamar Stewart on Thursday well I Obviously, have you covered throughout the week. But getting him back would help some. I'm not saying he's going to be the difference. You need Trey. But it would have been nice to have Shamar Stewart on the field today. Hendrickson remains their only guy, really.
Starting point is 00:25:18 But yeah, like hopefully Shamar Stewart could be better. Miles Murphy had an opportunity in this game. I don't think Miles played particularly well in this game either. So when you have Miles Murphy not playing great missing tackles, Jordan Battle missing a bunch of tackles, you got linebackers missing a bunch of tackles, linebackers getting stuck in no man's land, giving up big catches of Josh Jacobs.
Starting point is 00:25:39 It's just a lot to overcome with the amount of picks they've used on that side of the ball. And this goes back to the front office. And obviously, in the coach's involvement in the draft process and all these things, the way they've built that defense, the resources they've invested on that defense, not really paying dividends right now. And not to say the offense isn't a concern, but I think that.
Starting point is 00:26:01 that this game kind of shows you the trajectory of the defense where these mistackle issues come up and some of the same guys we're talking about every week like, hey, can you play a little bit more consistently? And then they don't. And so it does get a little bit easier with some of the offenses they've got coming up. But, you know, to your point about lack of playmakers, if you don't have Trey, how does that make this defense change? And how can they find the adjustments they need. You credit them for what they did early in this game. The Bengals offense had chances early in this game to capitalize on the stops the Bengals defense did make. And maybe the game looks different, especially in the second half, they're able to do a
Starting point is 00:26:44 little bit more. But a lot of people talking about, you know, the defense is on the field so much and was putting all these bad situations and all the stuff. And in this game, that wasn't the case. The time of possession slightly favors Green Bay, but the second half, the Bengals really made up a lot of that on offense. Bengals D. Maybe they're just gassed at that point from being on the field so much in the first half. Sure. They were unable to make the plays in the second half, just like the offense was unable to make the plays in the first half.
Starting point is 00:27:11 So overall, long way for this team to go, but the issues on defense are like, where's the answer coming from? Which has been the question on offense. And now the hypothetical answer is Joe Flacco. We'll see if Joe Flacco can keep playing reasonable football. Obviously, like he wasn't great before he got to Cincinnati. He was reasonable today. And now the question is, where did the answer start to come from on defense?
Starting point is 00:27:35 Is it as simple as they play some worse offenses? Green Bay, still pretty good offense. Detroit, really good offense. They've played some good offenses lately. Is that the answer here that you're hoping for? Maybe. But it'd be nice to see some tangible signs of progress over there. After last week, we thought in the first half, they did hold up against the Lions
Starting point is 00:27:54 and didn't really carry that momentum through to this game. No, they didn't. And the run part of it is huge. I mean, that was such a key. And for Josh Jacobs, 5.2 a carry, 18 carries, two touchdown. His long was 16. It wasn't like it was one carry of 60, and then the rest they were good against him. And 57 in the receiving game and just breaking tackles.
Starting point is 00:28:21 And we knew we would break tackles, but that athleticism disparity between the Packers, skill guys, and the Bengals was apparent. today. Yeah. I mean, Matthew Golden, like I said, he had his breakout game and Tucker Kraft after the catch. Like he only had two catches, but they were a big two catches. Golden, 86 yards on three catches. You know, it's crazy because Jordan Love, he was 19 of 26. Four of those were for those incompletions, DJ Turner got in the way. Otherwise, who knows what he would have been, right? just got to find a way. And honestly, I'm excited for you and Sands to discuss the film
Starting point is 00:29:03 because I do think that it's going to be more fun to discuss this offense for the first time and see what worked and how they can continue to make it work because they have to beat Pittsburgh on Thursday if they're going to keep their season alive. Yep, that's the state of the AFC North right now. That's got to be one of the more frustrating things about this season. You got the one in five Baltimore Ravens, the one in five, Cleveland Browns, the two and four now Cincinnati Bengals after losing four straight, and Pittsburgh at four and one.
Starting point is 00:29:33 It's like the AFC North is suddenly the AFC South. They're not this great division in football like we thought they would be this year. A lot of that down to injuries, but that being the case, if you win, then Pittsburgh drops a four and two and you get to three and four, and then maybe you can start stacking some things. But for being real, James, still an uphill battle, right? you have some signs of life and they got to keep pushing that rock up that hill
Starting point is 00:29:59 if they're going to claw their way back into this thing and hope they get to the top soon and can find those answers. But we'll have that film breakdown for you tomorrow. What did the Bengals get to that worked with Joe Flacko in the second half? How do they make those adjustments? Is there anything that we can look for as far as answers on the defensive side of the ball outside of DJ Turner catching lightning in a bottle in this game?
Starting point is 00:30:19 Hopefully he keeps it up because he's had a couple nice games now in a row here. but we'll have that cover for you tomorrow here on lockdown Bengals. Until then, thanks for listening. Hootay and have a good.

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