The Bengals had a 10-point lead with less than nine minutes left, but the positives ended there. A combination of miscues on offense and defense resulted in a crushing defeat.
“I think we fought our (butts) off,” Golden said. “We really competed hard, had two red zone stops, created a turnover, had a turnover on downs right before the half. They’re sitting there at 11 points at halftime. I think they’re at 18 with 8:44, 8 and change to go in the game. So, there’s a lot of positives.
“We allowed too many explosive plays, but there’s a lot of really good football in there and we got to eliminate the plays that are hurting us. And obviously, Josh (Allen) played really well. We didn’t affect him as much as we needed to. We certainly didn’t keep him in the pocket … and they converted three of the four fourth downs. So that makes it hard.”
Cincinnati knew Allen could be a problem with his legs as much as his arms but didn’t have answers in the run defense when it mattered most.
Allen’s 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter sparked the comeback from a 28-18 deficit, as the Bills strung together 21 straight points before Joe Burrow connected with Tee Higgins for a ridiculous 26-yard one-handed catch to make it a five-point game with 2:19 remaining.
The Bengals elected not to try an onside kick, instead counting on the defense to make a stop, and they had the Bills right where they wanted them in a third-and-15 with 1:54 to play after a Geno Stone sack on a blitz. Allen converted with his 17-yard run, and Buffalo was able to kneel out the clock.
“The two previous downs, I went with zero (blitzes), and obviously had success, so I wasn’t going to bring zero again. I thought he would’ve a zero beater, which they ended up checking to anyway it looked like. … So I was giving him a game up front to distort any draw and help on a screen. Same game we sacked and caused the fumble with Lamar (Jackson) last week. They didn’t block our D-end (Myles Murphy). He (Allen) pulled the ball down and took off, so they didn’t even block it correctly or anything. It was unfortunate we didn’t even make him stay in the pocket. They slid the protection, didn’t block the end and got out real quick, which was unfortunate for us.”
On the 40-yard touchdown run, Golden said it was a good call bringing pressure, but the Bengals got “a little high on the edge and created a crease, which was unfortunate.” They got close, he said, but can’t miss the opportunity like that.
Allowing Buffalo to convert on fourth downs was another big problem, and one of those was Allen taking advantage of Cincinnati’s struggles defending tight ends. He connected with Jackson Hawes for a 3-yard touchdown for Buffalo’s final score on a five-play, 29-yard drive after Burrow threw a second interception. The Bills three tight ends combined for 137 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said there are ways to fix those issues they’ve been having against tight ends, but part of it is having two rookie linebackers still gaining experience at this level. Baltimore’s Mark Andrews awaits this week, as the Ravens come to Paycor Stadium on Sunday.
“We can be better on some of the snaps, not buying so much on the action in front of them, and there’s other ways,” Taylor said. “I know Al (Golden) is trying to help them schematically as well. So each one’s a little bit of, it’s a unique look, because you might be in a different coverage. It might be a different look, might be a different way that they got the tight end there, but it certainly has been something that’s bit us, and we’ve got to work like crazy to rectify it.”
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