Let me try to explain this to you people. I love the Bengals. I could see Riverfront Stadium from the house I grew up in.
They were soooo bad for so many years. I'm talking 2, 3 and 4 win seasons out of 16 every single year.
Then Marvin Lewis comes in and elevates them first to a respectable .500 team, then to a perennial playoff team. But they can't get over the hump.
They have unbelievable bad luck. Carson Palmer hitting a 60-yd bomb then getting taken out on the same play. Last year, all of their offensive weapons were hurt and couldn't play in the playoffs. AJ Green, Marvin Jones, Gio Bernard, Tyler Eifert, etc.
This year, they were fantastic. They lost a game to the AFC South champs on a late TD. They lost a road game to the best team in the NFC on an OT FG. They lost a road game to the #1 seed in the AFC on an OT FG. And they lost to their mortal enemy when Dalton got hurt on the first drive of the game. They won their other 12 games.
If they could find a way to beat the Steelers in the first rd, there was a good chance Dalton would be back vs the suddenly reeling Patriots. They found a way to come back & take the lead with under 2:00 to go - and got a turnover. The game was won.
A fumble, some assholery by the Bengals that was punished by the refs, some assholery by the Steelers that was not punished by the refs and the rest is history.
There are a ton of unrestricted free agents on the Bengals. This may have been their last, best chance for a while.
When UK lost to Wisky last year, it hurt real bad. Like I said earlier, even worse than this Bengals loss.
But I knew they would be back competing for the title again immediately. I don't care about 40-0 as much as I do about winning the title.
UK basketball will pretty much always be in the conversation.
The Bengals' chances come few and far between.
