Well, the Bengals did what they should have done: beat the Lions at home, 23-13. Of course, it wasn’t as easy as the fans hoped it would have been. I was hoping for a huge blow out by the Bengals. Yeah, the game wasn’t as close as the score. The last six points for the Lions came in garbage time. Still, the Lions could’ve easily made it more of a game if they made some more plays, which is very disconcerting for a team that has playoff aspirations. With the Steelers somehow losing to the Raiders – which makes our loss to them not as bad – that almost singlehandedly gave us the division. If Green Bay beats the Ravens, the Bengals will have to win just one game in the next four to secure their second AFC North title since 2005 (and only their second winning season in the past 19… yes, they’ve been THAT bad).

The first quarter was just horrendous. The Bengals managed just 47 yards in the first quarter, and Lions rookie QB Matthew Stafford threw a 54 yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson. I know our secondary isn’t perfect, but you guys gotta defend that play much better. And this was the first play of their second drive. I had just gotten up to use the facilities, and I was in the bathroom at the stadium when they announced the touchdown catch. Everyone looked at each other (not in THAT way) and said, “Here we go again.” The Bengals were playing down to their competition. Again.

I mean, after Stafford’s touchdown, the Bengls scored the next 23 points, which is about as good a response as you want. All right, maybe I was hoping for a 42 point response, but I guess I shouldn’t get greedy. Cedric Benson ran well and amassed 110 yards, while Chad Ochocinco had one of his best games of the year with 137 yards and a 36 yard touchdown catch. Daniel Coats, the much maligned tight end, of course dropped a touchdown pass from Carson Palmer. Why even bother trying to throw to this guy? Carson could’ve walked into the end zone, hand it to him on a silver platter, and he would’ve dropped it faster than a date with Meredith Baxter.   At least they passed it a little bit more than last week, but it wasn’t like Carson was lighting it up.  And then there were the penalties.  Again.  Nine penatlies for 76 yards… Not good.  When will they improve?

Still, with two huge games looming – at the Vikings and at the Chargers – I’m not a hundred percent confident with the Bengals. The only reassuring thing is that they’ve played up to the level of their competition this season. That’ll be tall order for the next two teams. The Chargers will be the most important game, because we’re currently tied with them for the number two seed of the playoffs. But they can’t think about the Chargers just yet. The Vikings are arguably the best team in the NFL. It’ll take a monumental effort on both sides of the football to beat them. We’ll see what happens.