Bengals/Jags
I know - yawn, but hey it's TNF, so here I am watching the game. For the record, I could care less about either team, but find myself thinking about how I am always amazed by the cycles in sports and how grit and desire are so important, but particularly in football. Very good teams win the ones they should at a very high clip and battle out the others, always battling. The Bengals beat the Vikings and the Steelers, although depleted and getting a monkey off their back. Now, on a short week at home, against the Jags, who do have talent but are not good (yet), the Bengals seem to be following some pre-determined unwritten, but acknowledged script of how they are to lose the game. Flat as hell with missed a missed FG, 3 and outs left and right and a passing game that makes not sense (throwing into tight coverage for 3-yards when they need 6-7 for the first down - sound familiar?). It would appear that they mentally took the week off after a big win against a hated rival. I know if happens often in football, but I am curious for opinions on this as it seems that the Vikings often fall into this trap of flat play (this weekend would be a prime candidate for a typical let down, except for possibly Stefanski's return). Do you think this kind of let down is more on the players or the coaches? It is just peculiar that most teams come out so flat in situations like these. Do the players really leave all they had on the field in the last game? I just can't believe that.
I think you might have posted this at half time? The Bengals game back and won the game after looking much better in the 2nd half.
I know what you're talking about though. Bengals came out and couldn't do anything against a defense they were predicted to annihilate. But I think that's more about game plan than players coming out flat after a big win.
Every week is different and there are sections within games where the results vary widely based on how effective each team adjusts its game plan to what their opponent is doing. I know, for example, the Jags were determined to shut down Joe Mixon after he ran all over them in their last game. And so they sold out to do that. It should've left some things open for Burrow but he wasn't taking advantage early. He did later.
It's like the opening script in the Seattle game. Most teams map out an opening script of 15 or so plays designed to take advantage of a weakness they've identified in their opponent's defense. Seattle executed theirs flawlessly, we had no answer, and Seattle won their "game within a game" 17-7. But Zimmer adjusted and the Vikings won the second "game within a game" 23-0.
Long-winded response, but I've been thinking about this a lot.
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