Epic Loss

Biblical. That's how I describe yesterday's loss by the Cincinnati Bungles, er, Cincinnati Bengals to the Buffalo Bills. At one point during the first half, the Bengals were ahead of the 1-8 Bills by twenty one points. At half time, the Bengals were leading 31-14. For any competent NFL team, that's enough to win. But these are the Bengals.

And then came the second half. QB Carson Palmer threw two interceptions. He threw one pick in the endzone. Of course, we need a fumble. RB Cedric Benson fumbled the ball which was returned for a touchdown. How about getting burned by a seventh round draft pick? Wide receiver Steve Johnson caught three touchdown passes as the Bengals defenders decided they didn't want to get hurt. The vaunted defense was absolutely dreadful in the second half. The result? Thirty five unanswered points.

How ludicrous was this game? Bengals' first play on offense. Guess what? False start. Gee, when has that happened? Hint: Not unusual for the Bengals. At a zero question news conference, hapless Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said, "I guess you all are speechless, too." Um, coach, you think? Finally the ineptness is everywhere. As Bengals' safety Chris Crocker was lying in agony from an injury, the scoreboard showed his picture and name, "Chris Cocker." (Here's the picture and story from WhoDeyRevolution.)