A FEW MO' THINGS, 10/22/12
Normally, there'd be a photo from the previous day's Bengals game here, but I don't care to search for one this morning, so just watch this and laugh.

Last night's game is the kind that the Pittsburgh Steelers win.

Last night's game is the kind that the Cincinnati Bengals lose.

It will be true until it isn't.

The thing about last night's loss was how familiar it felt.  Sure, there were things that helped it stand out a little, namely the blown lead, how the passing attack suddenly looks like it was designed in the 1930s, how the offense's longest play went for a whopping 17 yards, how they managed just five plays from scrimmage of more than nine yards the entire night, plus another stupid replay challenge by Marvin, some crappy tackling, AJ's disappearing act, the blandness of the offense, Roethlisberger's typical escapability, the 246-yard differential in total yardage, the failure to stop some guy named Jonathan Dwyer on a third and seven when the entire stadium, even the insanely drunk dude right behind me, knew he was getting the ball, and the fact that the Steelers won the game without something like 41 key guys.

Bengals/Steelers games are like episodes of House.  The scripts are different, but the stories are the same.

For all of the good things this franchise has done these last 22 months, it still can't get out of it's own way against the Steelers.  Not to diminish was Pittsburgh did - winning a sorta-road game without their top two running backs, two lineman, and Troy Polamalu among others and coming back from down 11 points to do so - but the Bengals blew a great opportunity last night, pissing down their leg on the big stage yet again, failing to separate from the crowded middle of the AFC, and effectively crushing their division title hopes in the process. 

I feel like there's a better chance of me watching a Presidential debate tonight than of me watching a Bengals postseason game this January.

(The candidate who looks into the camera tonight and says "At this point, you know which one of us your voting for.  There's an NLCS game seven and Monday Night Football both on at this very moment.  Why are you watching us?" gets my vote.)

The winnability of this game cannot be overstated.  The Steelers simply sucked in so many different areas last night, pretty much doing anything they could to lose except beg the PBS scoreboard operator to give the Bengals free points.  They miss-fired on trick plays, they dropped passes, Roethlisberger turned it over twice, and they looked brutal offensively until they absolutely had to convert on third down.

And the Bengals still couldn't beat them.

With their toughest games still in front of them, and the stakes getting bigger with each coming week, the Bengals are getting worse.  The running game isn't working with any consistency - fantastic early then completely stagnant later, the passing game is regressing, and a few standouts aside (Burfict, Vontaze), their defense still can't get stops when it needs to. They look slow, they look uninspired, and when things start going poorly, particularly late in games, they look defeated.

Which means they look like the Bengals.

Outside perspectives....

From Chris Burke of SI.com....
....if Lewis and the Bengals cannot get past Pittsburgh — and, especially, can’t get past this Pittsburgh team, which thus far has been a depleted shell of its former self — then how can they expect to play a role in the AFC North race?

Cincinnati crept into the playoffs last season with a 9-7 record. Given the current state of the AFC, which boasts all of three teams over .500, a 9-7 mark might be good enough again.

Waiting at the end of the season, though, is a road game at Pittsburgh in Week 16 and a home game vs. the Ravens to close out the year. As far as the AFC North’s head-to-head matchups have gone thus far, the Bengals have established themselves as the clear third team on the totem pole, behind those two.

Something has to change for the Bengals to shake that perception. The whole AFC North world was placed on a platter for them Sunday night. All they had to do was finish what they started against the Steelers.

Their failure to do so leaves the Bengals in a world of hurt before the regular season even hits its halfway mark.

From Clark Judge of CBS Sports....
And that, folks, is why Cincinnati can't win the AFC North. The Bengals can't beat Pittsburgh and Baltimore. They lost their last nine to the two teams combined and are 1-11 in their last 12 games (including the playoffs) vs. Pittsburgh in Cincinnati.

From Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports...
Marvin Lewis was talking to his team in a calm, measured tone. Every now and then, the door to the Cincinnati Bengals' locker room popped open and Lewis' voice spilled into the hallway outside. How did he sound? He sounded bored.

The Bengals had just lost 24-17 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, blowing a double-digit lead at home to an aging, aching division opponent. The Steelers won this game because they wanted it.

The Bengals lost because they didn't.

-Then there was Saturday's excitement.  A Three-hour, 15 minute drive, a few hours in college football's most miserable broadcasting booth, and a three-hour, 15-minute drive home.  All centered around a Bearcat loss.

I don't want to pin the UC loss to Toledo on one guy, because I hate pinning any team's failures on one guy, and because you can't get a lead on the road then give up a kick return for a TD, but Munchie Legaux finally caught up to the Bearcats.

I know Munchie is a work in progress, and I know that we knew this coming into the season.  Munchie might one day be a very good, very consistent college quarterback.  I hope he is.  But he isn't now.  There are simply too many inaccurate throws and shaky decisions.  That might not be the case this time next year, but it is now.

Problem is, there's a good chance it will cost UC again, and now the Bearcats - who could be without Walter Stewart for a while - play a bunch of games, including this Friday's, where the opposition has the better guy behind center.

-I don't care that much about Lance Armstrong, mainly because I don't care that much about bicycle racing, but if I'm him today, I release the following statement.

"Take away my Tour de France titles.  Take away my endorsements.  Say whatever you want about me, my legacy, and my reputation.

But I tagged Sheryl Crow and Kate Hudson when they were at their peak. 

Oh, and I helped out millions of people who have or had cancer.

Try taking that away."

 -More later, including #MoHawkMonday at 3:04 on ESPN1530.  Here's a lady with a crazy hat screwing up God Bless America.