Rusty Start Results in Nailbiter Loss in OT

Date: September 13, 2022

Writer: Anthony Iles

Week 1 in the NFL is now complete and what a week 1 it was. Some games were blowouts and some games were nailbiters! We had 2 OT games with one of the games ending in a tie. For the Cincinnati Bengals they were the OT game that had an ending result having a loser. Steelers got the win with a late field goal with about 40 seconds remaining. If they would have missed it could have been a tie.

The game started off rusty as the Bengals offense looked like they had not played together in a while. Not playing in preseason for at least a couple quarters hurt their first quarter woes as they did not click. By the end of the second quarter you could tell it was getting into a groove. The damage had been done though because of multiple interceptions which one was a pick 6.

Bengals came out after halftime and looked much better. The offensive line played better and the offense was clicking. They gutted through a hard fought game by both teams and at the end tied the game with 2 seconds remaining. All that was needed was an extra point to win. However, with the loss of Harris due to a bicep injury the Bengals had to use an emergency replacement to perform longsnapping. This is a scenario equivalent to having your punter being the emergency quarterback. Bengals had 3 chances to win with FG or extra point and could not get it done. Harris might be out extended time so luckily they have a long snapper on the practice squad who has been elevated to the active roster and will be the LS for at least 5- 8 games or even the whole season if Harris bicep is bad.

The Bengals defense kept the Steelers in check and kept the Bengals in the game. If anything positive to reflect on from this game it is the resilience and patience the Bengals have to overcome circumstances. Not once did they think they could not come back and win. This game will give them motivation and be able to work on things to get better. Week 2 is in Dallas where the Bengals will be facing the backup QB Rush since QB Prescott injured his throwing hand and needs surgery and will be out up to 8 weeks.

Time to regroup and get a win in week 2 to be 1-1.

WHO DEY!