That one hurt just as much as the last one 33 years ago. Missed opportunities all over the field for Cincinnati, particularly when OBJ left the game and the Rams had Kupp as their only realistic passing option.
Taylor's playcalling in the second half was questionable - Mixon and the running game averaging nearly five yards per carry and you're ahead by four, but you keep dropping back to pass and allow Aaron Donald and Von Miller to get to work against an OL that can't block? I don't see the sense in that.
Sad to see the refs suddenly decide to flag every Bengals defensive back on every play in the Rams' game-winning drive, but that's not the reason they won. Cincinnati had enough chances to win the game in the second half but went away from the run game when they shouldn't have. I would have kept running Mixon until the Rams started walking a safety up to put seven or eight in the box, then started hitting Chase, Boyd and Higgins for massive YAC the moment they were in single coverage with no safety help.
Ultimately the Rams deserved it slightly more, and had OBJ stayed on the field they would have taken it by a bigger margin anyway. If they can add some juice to their run game they will continue to be a powerhouse in the NFC.
Hopefully the Bengals address their woeful OL in the offseason and make a deep playoff run again next year - I suspect we might see a Bills v Bengals AFC championship game IF the Bengals can somehow keep this roster together. Boyd, Higgins, Hubbard, Wilson and Bates will all attract interest from other teams.
Taylor's playcalling in the second half was questionable - Mixon and the running game averaging nearly five yards per carry and you're ahead by four, but you keep dropping back to pass and allow Aaron Donald and Von Miller to get to work against an OL that can't block? I don't see the sense in that.
Sad to see the refs suddenly decide to flag every Bengals defensive back on every play in the Rams' game-winning drive, but that's not the reason they won. Cincinnati had enough chances to win the game in the second half but went away from the run game when they shouldn't have. I would have kept running Mixon until the Rams started walking a safety up to put seven or eight in the box, then started hitting Chase, Boyd and Higgins for massive YAC the moment they were in single coverage with no safety help.
Ultimately the Rams deserved it slightly more, and had OBJ stayed on the field they would have taken it by a bigger margin anyway. If they can add some juice to their run game they will continue to be a powerhouse in the NFC.
Hopefully the Bengals address their woeful OL in the offseason and make a deep playoff run again next year - I suspect we might see a Bills v Bengals AFC championship game IF the Bengals can somehow keep this roster together. Boyd, Higgins, Hubbard, Wilson and Bates will all attract interest from other teams.
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