Bass: Bengals’ loss was ‘brutal,’ ‘sickening,’ ‘worst I’ve ever seen’
Joe Burrow and the Bengals made the Super Bowl, you spent the offseason believing they would lead you to a bigger reward, and this is what you got Sunday?
Steelers 23, Bengals 20. With five turnovers. All by Burrow. But a wild comeback. Led by Burrow. Then a missed game-winning PAT in regulation. Then a missed game-winning field goal in overtime. Then . . .
An 0-1 record.
When one game is your entire season, your feelings about it might amplify. And linger.
“I’m still crying,” @MassenMedien tweeted the next day.
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On Monday morning, I asked the Twitterverse how hard Sunday was for you. Clearly, and understandably, this one got to you. Check out excerpts of some of the responses.
@Ioegreer: “It was hard mike.”
@Bansheekat: “Very damn hard. ☹️”
@Kensdavies: “Tooth extraction hard.”
@Krain12183: “Sickening.”
@Elquechi: “Horrible.”
@Wchc1Michael: “Brutal.”
@JasonD0403: “Haven’t been that mad in a long time.”
@8Figurr: “Scale from 1-10 I say 8🤦🏿♂️.”
@Lady_avaa: My husband is a Steelers fan – You tell me 😤😡.”
@Ben_StuartG42: “Beyond frustrating.”
@TraceyMohr: “Exhausting.”
@Kdraginoff: “So aggravating and stressful.😠”
@Ellaymosdef: “Think I pulled out 3 dreads.”
@SueMay90143549: “It was unbelievably tough to watch.”
@Pfunk1323: “I was crushed (...) like really is it that hard to find someone that can long snap a ball.”
@NOTHUTCH1: “I would rather have them blown out by 20+ than go thru yesterday's drama.”
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You want to read everything into an opener. Or nothing.
You want to know why 23-20 happened. And why it won’t happen again.
You want to know what it means. Or that it is a fluke.
It is an opening game thing.
@Zoults: “Its just week 1 shenanigans honestly.”
@Olhydeface: “It happens. Gotta lot of season left.”
@Zebo13: “Seems we got a whole season’s worth of bad luck out of the way in one game 🙏🏻..”
@XxX_DIABLO_XX: “Well I'm glad we had this crap game now and not the end of the season.”
When it is the opener, you look for context, and all you might see is the past. And not in a good way.
Not when you lose the way the Bengals lost.
@FormerPaigeBfan: “Worst game I’ve ever had to watch in person truly.”
@CincyBoy23: “Worst loss I’ve ever seen because of the emotional rollercoaster. Maybe even worse than the super bowl game or 2015 although the stakes weren’t as high.”
@OhioSportsAgony: “It took me back to the 30 years of absurdity that preceded last year’s run and making me fear 2021 was a fluke. Yesterday was BAD. Very bad.”
@Cometcentral: “Still not over it ... the most bengals way to lose ever!!!!”
You might see an opportunity lost.
@SpotsyHoya: “I am angry and upset that the team fell into an obvious trap game. That was the third easiest game on our schedule!”
@Wildchamp1993: “Hard? Not hard at all, we deserved that loss at the end of the day. Steelers came to play, not being able to admit that makes you a horrible bengals fan.”
You might want to blame somebody – somebody being Zac Taylor for sitting his starters in the preseason and leaving your team unprepared and you feeling terrible.
@Sharonh07588271: “Terrible, embarrassed. I blame coaching staff. Not prepped, not communicating, bad plan of no preseason snaps.”
@TaylorM02850907: “Terrible nobody played in the preseason and it showed but the play calling was atrocious especially the running we routinely ran it to their strong side and got blown up the worst was 4 inches out of the end zone how the hell do you not QB sneak just stupidity.”
@DavidLe12522931: “Who was playing out there sure wasn’t a super bowl contender from last year and can the coach actually challenge a call when Ray Charles can clearly see it was a TD.”
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The more recent past might provide you a different context because your expectations changed. Instead of comparing Sunday with three decades of Same Old Bengals, you might juxtapose Sunday with the AFC title season.
@Harpua71: “Very much reminded me of a combination of the Bears and the Packers games from last year. I’m pretty sure I had a heart attack at one point.”
@BengalsCaptain (responding to @Harpua71): “Nailed it. Lots of fans were talking about that in the stadium. Gimme EITHER the Bears turnovers OR the Packers special teams problems, and we win. We saw BOTH. Ugh.”
@Harpua71: “Couple tweaks and we’ll be just fine. Not sure my ticker could take a full season like that 😂.”
@Collett_smash: “It was hard to watch. Very uncharacteristic of Joey B. Bengals beat themselves there.”
@Wurzeldaddy: “Not as hard as the Super Bowl.”
Move 23-20 to another week, or another season, and it might affect you differently. But after a Super Bowl season changed the way you look at the Bengals, Game 1 could blindside you without destroying your faith in the team.
You see hope.
@WhoDey_UK: “It was tough, Mike. The levels of expectation have risen and instead of AFC Champs we came out and played like a 4-13 team. Things settled down in the second half and despite all of this, we absolutely should have won. It's a long season, and it's a marathon not a sprint.”
@Thewhobae: “It was weird. A perfect storm of weirdness. I'm glad it's over. I'm not worried at all. I'm ready to move on and I'm sticking to my 16-1 record prediction.”
@CincyTron: “In the moment, it was awful. After a night to sleep on it, I’m honestly ok. It just takes putting things into perspective.”
@CryptoJediM: “Had a headache for the remainder of the day 😂. ... Honestly, I am happy with the way they came back tho. ... Says a lot imo.”
@BrandonMMurphy: “It took 5 whole quarters and a field goal for them to win even with 5 turnovers. Our Defense is in prime form, the Oline will need time to properly gel together. North battles are always a fight. I have us as 13-4. I still feel confident.”@IrelandsWhodey
@CryptoJediM: “Had a headache for the remainder of the day 😂. ... Honestly, I am happy with the way they came back tho. ... Says a lot imo.”
@BrandonMMurphy: “It took 5 whole quarters and a field goal for them to win even with 5 turnovers. Our Defense is in prime form, the Oline will need time to properly gel together. North battles are always a fight. I have us as 13-4. I still feel confident.”
@IrelandsWhodey: “Week 1, long season kicked off versus tough division opponent, despite all setbacks, in a position to win at the end. Everything is correctable. Need to be ready each week. On to Dallas.”
@RyWilliams29: “One word: sucks. But we are on to Dallas! I feel the line will be better from here on out, Not worried about Burrow, and defense was just WOW!”
@DylanGaffneyDC: “I’ll be worried if Burrow throws a couple of picks on Sunday. Until then, he had a rough half of football coming off an appendectomy with a brand new OL he hasn’t worked with before. I think we’ll be fine.”
@Animal_lover365: “It was depressing yesterday, but it was one game. If they lose to the Cowboys, though, panic button for the rest of the season.”
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You can’t change 23-20. Game 1 is what it is. One game. Harbinger or outlier. You perceive it however you choose to perceive it. Why not make it work for you?
What if what happened Sunday is exactly what was supposed to happen? How would that change your view of it? Thirty years of misery made last season sweeter, so what can 23-20 do for you now? The Bengals might have needed this. Smart teams learn from and overcome adversity. So can smart fans. How can you use 23-20?
Can it help ground you? Can it deepen your faith in Burrow and loyalty to the Bengals? Can it tell you this ride might be different than what you had expected, certainly different than last season, so buckle-up for the unknown?
What would empower you?
For now, give yourself credit. You have survived Game 1 of The Season of High Expectations.
On to Dallas.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals fans reactions to the loss against the Steelers
