Transcript of The Bengals' Superstars Deserve Better

Ready for the shotgun snap. Joe has the football. He'll look to throw. Fires a pass. Caught by George Hayes down the sideline.

20, 15, 10. Touchdown. Bengals. 1 0 1 to go. A 40 yard strike to Jamar Chase.

Oh, the Bengals finally got 1 late. 27 to 20. That was our friends, Dan Horad and Dave Lapham on WCKY. I'm Greg Rosenthal here on NFL daily. And I've seen the Bengals blow so many games in so many big spots, including in prime time this season, that it was nice for once to see their 2 great players, Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase hook up for a game winner.

Ja'Marr Chase ends up with 14 catches for a 177 yards and 2 touchdowns. And I don't know, Nick, if it means anything in the big picture, but the Bengals seemed extremely relieved to get their 5th win of the season in a in a weird game in Dallas. At least it was entertaining.

Yeah. Entertaining. Joe Burrow captured it best, I think, when in talking with ESPN's Lisa Salters after the game, which is we needed a break. We haven't gotten many of those this season, and they haven't. And for a long period there, I thought they weren't going to until the cowboys screwed up a blocked punt situation that gave the Bengals second life.

And it reminded me of the 1 constant theme that's on the positive side for the Bengals this season, which is death, taxes, and Joe Burrow to Ja'Marr Chase for a big play. He makes that catch. He scores that touchdown. And finally, even if it doesn't mean much in the big picture because they're now 5 and 8, it at least prevents the Bengals from securing a losing season for at least 1 more week.

Hey. They're they're not eliminated yet. Neither is Dallas for that matter. Although both of them can be eliminated next week. And when that's even possible in week 15, it means you're probably not gonna stave off elimination for long.

Let's just give Ja'Marr Chase some love for a second. And and Joe Burrow. Ja'Marr Chase has 625 yards after the catch that it's most in the NFL. According to Next Gen Stats, he caught 9 of the 11 targets tonight that he had an out breaking routes for a 122 yards and 2 touchdowns. That that is the most of of anyone in the game all season.

That is absolutely outrageous and it points to something I was thinking throughout this game, which is that Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase make those opposite hash out routes look easier than any 2 people in the NFL. That should not be an easy play. And Joe Burrow makes it look so easy. And he only does it in part because Chase is so good and is exactly where he's supposed to be and gets so open on those plays. And tonight, even though we saw a lot of the reasons why the Bengals are 5 and 8 and we we can get to those reasons, like, we can just appreciate a little bit of greatness on our on our Monday night football even especially when on the other side, it's like Cooper Rush is involved.

Yeah. I mean, that's not very intriguing. But, you said it's the most in a game this season. It's the most in a game in 7 seasons. An outbreaking route is not a route that usually produces a massive gain.

It's a throw that you make to move the chains. It's a throw that you make because the coverage dictates you to go there, and, hopefully, you're gonna make it happen. They make it look elementary. And they have throughout their career, and it speaks back to their time together at LSU and the rapport that they built in college and how they've carried the NFL. And I might be talking about old news at this point, but their relationship and why it's so vital to this Bengals', you know, existence now and their future can be captured in 1 moment.

And it's right after the game. They hand Joe Burrow a box of donuts because it's Simpsons night on the alternative broadcast. And he takes a donut, and instead of eating it, he he grabs it. He looks at it. He looks up at Ja'Marr Chase, and he smashes it in his face because they love each other, and that is expressed on the football field with their great success.

They it is a tandem that I feel like we haven't seen produce at this rate in a long time, and it really bums me out that they're not a better and more complete team because they should be in the playoffs because this is this them alone are fun to watch.

I I wanna wear my biases on my sleeve. When Joe Burrow and the Bengals were punting with what was it? A minute and 53 left or something like that after having a a 4th and 26, because multiple just boneheaded penalties from their teammates was forcing them to kick the ball back to the cowboys. I was thinking, I can't freaking believe they are going to lose this game again. And as great as Joe Burrow is, and he's 1 of the best quarterbacks in the league, this game had so many elements of why this team is where they were.

At at they were great in the first half. They come out of halftime. Burrow did have a curious interception. His receiver gets bumped off. He he's anticipating it.

That's in the Q3. They have a field goal drive where they settle after, like, a ball hits Ja'Marr Chase in the helmet, and and Burrow can't find Tee Higgins, you know, connect on a on a 1 on 1 in the end zone. So they settle for a field goal. And then they punt a couple of times in in the 4th quarter, including that punt. And I'm thinking, this is a travesty that this team is losing to the cowboys.

That they are wasting this quarterback and this receiver and Tee Higgins together. And it should be a 5 alarm fire in Cincinnati what's happening. And I don't believe Zach Taylor is the right quarter the coach for them. I I really don't. And I thought, you know what?

I I don't want them to lose in a way, but maybe they need to like get even worse to really get the ownerships attention. Because to me, Zac Taylor feels like a good enough coach that is getting propped up by 2 first ballot hall of fame talents. And you shouldn't just be accepting good enough right here, smack in the middle of the prime. It should be a 5 alarm fire. But once again, like, they get saved by the Cowboys, ineptitude, and then they get saved by Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase's brilliance on that last touchdown.

And maybe it's not the national conversation, but maybe it should be, Nick. What what do you think?

No. I actually had that same thought right when the Cowboys scored that touchdown pass, to Brandon Cooks. That was the first time it occurred to me that, like, wait. This Bengals team is nowhere near what they should be. Like, I'm watching replays of Rico Dabo ripping off big gains on the ground, and I'm just thinking, god, this is such a disappointment.

This is a team that should have been so much better. I thought back to our preseason predictions and and how I raved about the Bengals. And if everything goes right, they have a a solid roster and everything else, and it just hasn't worked out for them. And then I thought, maybe Zach Taylor actually is at risk of losing his job. Maybe he isn't the right guy.

So I think you're totally right in at least considering that, because how else do you explain you can't explain away this entire season with, oh, our defense was bad. That's an operational failure on the part of the front office and the coaching staff. And and this is a team that also has a a highly regarded defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo, who's just been grasping at straws trying to find answers. So I think you're absolutely right. And yet, I tweeted it in the Q4.

It's really fun. It's kind of satisfying in a way to watch losing teams find new ways to lose. And that's the only thing that saved them in this game was the fact that the Cowboys out inaptituted them. If that's not even a word, but I just made it up.

Even the final drive, Cooper Rush on the on the 4th down. I mean, he has an open receiver, and he's facing a little bit of pressure, but he he just misses throws. And he doesn't make bad decisions, but he just misses too many throws for a guy who isn't physically talented. And you see it week after week, like, he is a below average backup, I would say. Not the worst backups in the league, but not an asset.

They need to be looking to upgrade there. But I I really believe that with Taylor and it doesn't feel like it doesn't feel like he's held to the same standard as other places. If Ben Roethlisberger, in the middle of his career, just went 5 and 11 or 6 and 101 year with with Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin, like, not that he had Bill Cowher, but with Mike Tomlin. Like, you you think Tomlin wouldn't have been on the hot seat? Like, if if Sean McDermott was 5 and 8 this year, he would be fired.

Like, you we would just, assume it because you have this infrastructure that you've been building. You have these guys at their prime. And, yeah, like, the margin for error is small. And he just maybe it's watching that in season hard knocks. It just feels like

I know where you're going. No. I don't. Inspired by him. You're not inspired by him.

I don't know where I'm going. He's fine. Like, he's a fine coach. He's like the Kirk Cousins

Oh, no.

Coaches. He's above the Dalton scale. He's above average. He's gonna make a lot of money, but you've had a franchise for how long? Whatever.

5th 40, 50 years. This is easily the best quarterback you ever have. Might be the best quarterback you you ever will have. And he's alongside Ja'Marr Chase, and and you mentioned all the reason who's, you know, maybe the best the best receiver you've ever had. And they have this connection.

And you have Tee Higgins there too. And it's it's just like, why not you try to be as great as those players are trying to be?

And I think for a long time, the excuse is personnel. Well, we're not good enough. We don't have the quarterback. Well, then they got the quarterback. And I think the things that are saving them is a lower standard of expectation because let's think back to the Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson slash Ojocinco, TJ, who's been zotted teams that, like, were good enough and then always found ways to lose in the playoffs.

The birth of West of Us came from that. Right? And then you also think about the time that they made the Super Bowl a few years ago, and and, like, that has won him enough goodwill for that to not be mentioned in the conversation. It's also a weird period right now where he's not the only coach who is safer than he probably should be. Just go up up north in the same state.

Kevin Stefanski is in a similar spot with the Browns where they're not good, but he's safe.

He's he's shown me more, though. I He has.

But he hasn't got to a Super Bowl and Zach Taylor has. So, like, that's their argument.

I get it.

I get it too. I totally get it.

Zach Taylor's contract extension, how long it lasted during this game. And, I think it's through 26, so there's there's 2 more years on it. I we're just talking here. I don't I don't think it's that realistic, but I just think Joe Burrow is that special, and you just can't assume that, like, this is gonna last forever. You've had all those you know, before there's been excuses, there's injury plagued years, there's different ways that the season ended.

This year, they they've been more than healthy enough. He Burrow's been healthy, and and that's the key. Let's let's circle back to that moment though where they were bailed out a little bit by the Cowboys. So to just set it up again, like I said, the the Bengals had punted twice in a row in a tie game there, a close game in the Q4. And I was thinking, man, like, as great as Burrows been, there's been too many of these spots where they give the ball to the other team.

If Cooper Rush does it, that's where I was starting to lose my mind. But, the Cowboys saved them in only the way that Cowboys can. Let's listen.

Rico punting for the 3rd time. He's averaged 53 and a half yards per punt. The snap is good. Here comes the punt, and it's blocked. Can you believe it?

It's rolling forward. The cowboys may

have touched it. If that's the case Yeah.

The Bengals would get the ball. They got it. They got it. Colossal mistake by the Dallas cowboys. They just needed to get out of the way Yeah.

After blocking that punt. 1 of their players touched it, and the Bengals recovered. A colossal blunder by Dallas.

Oh, man. Great call there by Dave Laffman, Dan Horn. Yep. Like, they blocked the punt. The game was just about over.

All all they gotta do, the cowboys, is not touch that ball, and they're gonna have the ball on the plus side of the field. They've been moving the ball fairly well tonight, by the way, like everyone does against the Bengals. I mean, they they put up 20 points. They got 322 yards. They actually averaged 5 and a half yards per play, which isn't amazing, but it's it's pretty good for the Cowboys with Cooper Rush.

And I would have given them a strong chance of, you know, get getting them in field goal range. For Brandon Aubrey, they basically already were, but I believe it was Awari who who hit it. And you feel for him, and you give Joe Burrow 1 more chance. And this time, they capitalize.

Yeah. I I don't like to revel anybody's misfortune because I think karma comes around for all of us, and I'm not trying to get caught like that. But I will say for as tough of a season as it's been for the Bengals, it warmed my heart to hear Dan Hord be able to make that call because he was basically just absolutely despondent when he realized that they had the punt blocked. And then instantly, he's like, wait. They have the ball back.

They have new life, and then he's able to call the touchdown. Like, Dan's 1 of my favorite guys in this business. He's an he's an amazing individual. So and a tough season for him to get that moment. That was great for the Bengals to be able to come away with a win.

That was great. Even if it was weird. Even if it was Yes. Kind of gifted to them, they still took advantage.

I I if there's any Bengals fans here listening and wondering, like, why are you going so negative when you're you're talking about Zach Taylor? First of all, I know our friend Spice Rack is not thinking that because he's 1 of Zach. He's thought Zach Taylor is getting propped up by these guys for very long. It's more that's more important to me, big picture. We're not gonna take this time to talk about the Bengals in this sort of way, the the rest of the season.

And them winning this game, sure. It it's nice. It their fans should enjoy it. But the the bigger picture is kinda where is this team going. They have a lot of questions on their defense.

I I was thinking, how can a team with Trae Hendrickson have this bad a pass rush? Like, it makes no sense. Hendrickson had 4 quick pressures tonight, 7 pressures overall. The rest of the team actually did have a decent amount of of pressures. They weren't terrible in this game.

But there were just plays where because Hendrickson's double teamed where there's just nothing. And so I know they had a decent amount of pressures. Their pressure rate was okay tonight. But the place where they didn't have pressure, it was like Cooper Rush just there's no 1 anywhere near them, and that's why they were able to move the ball. Micah Parsons, on the other hand, we gotta give him some love before, we give him a little bit of grief.

My god is he an amazing player. He had 9 pressures in this game. 6 quick pressures, which is under 2 and a half seconds, which is up there for the best performances of the season in terms of quick pressure. So he is getting it done week after week, and that's why you don't hold it too much against him when he makes a big spectacle of himself after that block punt that, Nick, I'm sure you saw on the telecast. And if you're watching on YouTube, you can see it now.

And he is just going absolutely through it on the sidelines, just not knowing what happened, so mad. And then at the end of the game, he stomps off the field. And I was watching this game actually with my son and his friend, James, who's a great athlete. And my butt my my son Walker was like, oh, that's kinda like you at the end of games. You're a poor sport too.

I was like Peachy moment. It's kinda true. Like, he is showing up his teammates a little bit. It's a little bit like, hey. Look at me.

I care more than you. But I do think it comes from a genuine place. He was in tears after the game too talking about Demarvi and Overshawn's knee injury. I I think he really does care that much. It makes him good.

But, ultimately, it's it's also kind of showing up your own teammates a little bit. Maybe I'm might being like an old fuddy duddy. What do you think?

I mean, first off, I would never use fuddy duddy to describe anybody, including you. So we'll take that away right now. Strike that from the record. No. I understand.

I I do understand his disappointment and his frustration because he is 1 of the game's best rushers. He's a great player, and he's stuck on a defense that basically had maybe 2 other contributors on the field. 1 of them being over shown, and he leaves with an injury. And it's like, it already got bad. The season itself is bad, and now it's just getting worse because we can't even execute this.

We make a great play on special teams. We block a punt that we were able to block because the defense gotta stop late in a tie game, and then you go and blow it like that. I understand. I totally understand why you'd be upset, but as a teammate, you kinda have to control your emotions to a degree because it is kind of showing them up at the end of the day.

Yeah. I, thought they were game. You know, Edrick Eric Kendrick's flying around. It's just disappointing because Overshown possibly has a serious injury just based on Micah Parsons' reaction, how it looked in the moment. There's no word on it.

But for Parsons to be that emotional and and say over showing doesn't deserve this and he's battled through injuries, you have to fear the worst and we'll we'll probably have an update on that on our our next show. Cooper Beebe, their their rookie center also got got injured in this scheme. Before we throw it to break, like, just little things. Like like, why did it take the Cowboys so long to know that Rico Daddle was their running back? Like, this is this is 1 of the reasons why I can't trust you, cowboys.

Like, Rico Dowdle has been great the last month, and you were splitting carries between him and Lipke and Deuce Vaughn and Ezekiel Elliott for the rest of the season. And now when you you actually give the ball, the guy kinda everyone was like, isn't that just our best guy? He's reliable. He's solid. You do that to him for a month, and he's great.

He's he's fun running.

He's reset his, career high for a single season. So a single game high in 2 games straight. Yeah. He went over a 100 yards last week. He goes, oh, even higher than that this week.

Like, it's he finishes with a 131 yards and 18 attempts averaging 7.3 yards per carry. And I know it's the Bengals defense, so it's a perfect time to have a career best Zeke

wouldn't be doing that. Zeke.

He wouldn't. He wouldn't. He hits the hole with burst. He's he's a fast guy, and and, yeah, I agree. I I don't know.

It it points to the Cowboys season in a nutshell. They're just making dumb decisions. It started in the off season with their personnel moves or lack thereof, and it just continued through the season. And now when their backs are all but and they're against the wall, they're basically done. They now find a way, oh, let's give it to him, you know, enough time for him to make a difference.

Yeah. We we've probably spent too much time on this. Before we go, I I mentioned how special it was to have Chase and Burrow together and Higgins as well. And the reason I I'm not including Higgins as much as I'm just assuming Higgins is gonna be gone because that's what the Bengals do. They they sometimes let great players leave, and it's assumed that Chase is gonna be the only 1 that gets his money.

Joe Burrow, after the game, had some interesting quotes about that.

You know, those discussions are are ongoing, and I'm confident that I think we're gonna be able to do what it takes to to bring Tee back. And, you know, I know that that I'm gonna do what it takes to to get him back, and so is he. We've had those talks. So

I watched, I watched Tee Higgins get asked about it and they were gentle and how they were framing it, not almost trying to not get too into his business. And and he he kind of said, okay. You know, I I never ruled out coming back here and kinda like that's always been the hope and and a little bit of, like, I'll believe it when I see it. But those comments make me think there's a bigger chance than we thought that Joe Burrow's maybe willing to put, you know, push some money into the future or whatever that's gonna be and or it's Joe Burrow putting a little more public pressure on his ownership to get something done. Either way, good job, Joe Burrow.

Because, that's It it if

I played the lottery with this type of confidence, I would be putting pressure on the lottery board to, you know, grease the skids for me and give you the numbers. Like,

I don't

know. The Bengals, the way they operate as a franchise, like, we've known that they're not a team that spends a ton of money, legacy ownership, essentially. Like, there's a number of reasons why. And it's hard. It's hard to see anything.

Make the point that Bengals fans are probably screaming right now. This is 1 of the most expensive teams in the NFL. It's 1 of the reasons why they're so disappointing.

But that's also 1 of the reasons why they probably won't pay him.

Their their defense is expensive. Like, they're they've been spending some cash, and they gotta pay, you know, obviously, they had to pay Joe Joe Burrow, and they gotta pay Chase. And just the math makes it it makes it difficult. Ja'Marr Chase, by the way, going for the triple crown, and so he's gonna be the highest paid receiver in the league when he signs that next contract. He has 6 more receptions than anyone in the NFL.

A 149 more yards than anyone in the NFL and 6 more touchdowns receiving than anyone in the NFL. He has a great chance to do what Cooper Kupp did just a few years ago and get that triple crown, which is which is pretty special.

That and the run after catch ability is really what stood out for me the most this year. This is a guy who will catch a pass over the middle for 10 or 12 yards and is a threat to take it 60 yards to the house every time. He's special in that area among many others.

If you take just his best 4 games of this season, he has 750 yards and 8 touchdowns. 4 games.

Yeah. Outrageous.