After kicking a field goal with fourth-and-2 yesterday, Marvin Lewis was asked if he would do the same thing again. His response:

“I still feel we’re going to possess the ball three more times, by taking the points,” Lewis said. “We have an opportunity to stop them, get the ball back before halftime then have the ball coming out in the third quarter. So I’m probably going to still kick the field goal at that point with where we were in the game. It was a good yard that way. I have to go with how I’m getting information. We weren’t sure, we had a little bit of rundown on the play clock because they didn’t get the ball spotted exactly right away. If you look at the tape, once I called timeout, it was a little bit further. But again, I have to go with what is there. It’s easy to look back on it now, particularly after they score a touchdown, and think that makes a difference. … It was important to get points.”

Sure, it’s important to get points but when you’re 2-4, it’s also important to try and get wins and some confidence. Even if they don’t make it, at least they would have tried.

Despite taking the first lead of the game 3-0, the Bengals lose 24-13 to the Steelers.  It almost seems like they’ve given up.

With the Steelers up 14-3, the Bengals drive to just inside the 2. It’s fourth-and-goal and almost to the 2 minute warning so they take a timeout. They come out of that timeout and kick a field goal. Maybe if the team had a winning record, I’d go for the field goal and play it safe. But this team is 2-4 and had a chance to make a statement and they decided not to. The fans at the stadium booed the kick and they probably should have. When your season is this bad, you have to go for something. A touchdown could have made it 14-10 and put some life into the team. Instead, they make the score 14-6 and the Steelers take the ball and go down to the 1-yard line with 8 seconds to go and run one in with Willie Parker. I hope the Bengals were paying attention.

The Bengals did make it back down to the 15-yard line trailing 24-13 but Kenny Watson fumbled the ball. The Bengals challenged the play because it seemed like Watson was down but they lost the challenge and pretty much any chance of coming back to win. I’d have to see the play a few more times but it looked to me like he could have been down. Watson was also injured on the play.

If you want to look for something good in the game, the Bengals didn’t throw and interception or give up a sack to a pretty good Steelers defense. They did have the one fumble which really hurt but they were already down 10 points.

And when you’re losing, there’s always plenty of bad. The defense managed only one sack and did intercept Big Ben once but gave up 126 yards rushing to Willie Parker. Not that Parker is a bad running back but the Bengals seem to give up over 100 yards to someone each week.

I guess it would have been nice to have a few easy games at this point on the schedule instead of the Steelers just to (hopefully) get a few extra wins but this game was a chance for the Bengals to get something back and show that they could contend. They didn’t really show much of anything and their uphill climb for any shot at the playoffs just got more difficult.

The Steelers come to town today and bring a chance for the Bengals to get back into things with them. A win today would put the Bengals just one game back from the Steelers in total record. But it would also be a great boost since the Steelers are one of the better teams in the league this year. They haven’t looked great in every game they’ve played but they’ve been good enough to be 4-2.

The Bengals will be without some players because of injury again but they’re surely getting used to that by now. Hopefully Kenny Watson can step up again and be a force in the running game.

On defense, the Bengals need to slow down Fast Willie Parker and prevent the Steelers’ passing attack from getting the long plays.  Easier said than done, I know. Especially with the Bengals’ defense.

On offense, the passing game needs to be effective and keep the turnovers down. It should be a good game and will be even better (for Bengals’ fans anyway) if the Bengals can find a way to win.

It has been reported that the Bengals will try to use Chad Johnson as trade bait this offseason.  Chad says there is probably some truth to it and that whatever happens, happens.

I just don’t think this would be a good move. He’s not a bad character guy and while it may look like he’s a distraction right now, he’s not acting out like we’ve seen some other stars do.

Sure, he brings attention to himself and heck, the Bengals owe him something for bringing attention to the team. A few years ago, most people forgot they were even in the NFL. He’s played and he’s played hard and you have to respect that.

Marvin Lewis has been evasive on questions about this trade and most everything else. It’s not all Chad Johnson’s fault that the Bengals have a terrible record this year. There are injuries and other things and it doesn’t always look like Marvin Lewis is handling things very well. We don’t know what goes on behind closed doors but I just expect more.

Unless they were to get something huge in return for Chad, I think it would be a bad trade. Because he’s there, TJ is having a great season. But they need each other for it to work. Chris Henry will help out some but who knows how long it will be before he’s suspended again.

I’d like to hear what some other people think about this trade talk so feel free to comment.

The Bengals stopped their losing streak with a win today. It was a battle of two teams that are just not playing well. And they both made it a close game.

Kenny Watson came up huge for the Bengals. He rushed for 130 yards and 3 touchdowns. Yes, I said 3. He also caught 3 passes for 27 yards. Rudi Johnson did not play because of a hamstring injury.

Johnathan Joseph returned from his one game suspension to intercept a Chad Pennington pass and return it for a touchdown.

It wasn’t a pretty game. The Bengals had to rattle off 28 straight points just to take the lead. And Chad Pennington threw for 272 yards and 3 touchdowns. The defense did hold Thomas Jones to 67 yards though but the tackling and pass defense was just awful at times.

Carson Palmer threw for 226 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Chad Johnson caught 3 passes for 102 yards. TJ Houshmandzadeh continued his fine play this season by adding a touchdown reception.

So they still didn’t look great but a win is a win and I’ll take it. The Ravens also lost today so that’s a plus. The offense seems to be running ok and if Kenny Watson can continue to play well the rest of the season, he only makes them more dangerous. The defense still has to get better. The team shouldn’t have to score 38 points to win. Sure, it’s fun to watch but it won’t get you too far.

I’m not saying the season is saved yet but I’m happy that they ended the losing streak.

On paper, it doesn’t look like a big game at all. The Jets are 1-5 and just not playing well. And we all know the Bengals aren’t playing well. But if the team is going to do anything to try and save this season, it’s got to start with a win this weekend.

Sure, it’s possible that the Bengals can win out and some other teams can lose several times. It’s not likely but stranger things have happened. But the fans are getting tired of the losing and I’m sure the players are as well. Even with the injuries, they still have too much talent to have this terrible record.

Hopefully some players will be back from injury and Johnathan Joseph will be back from his one game suspension. The offense is doing ok and Chris Henry is back in two weeks. So if they’re going to turn things around, it has to start now.

A loss to the Jets would surely end any hope for the playoffs and then the team would just be playing for pride. They haven’t shown that much so far this year but I’m hoping they’ll step up and show us something.

I didn’t even know what to write about yesterday’s game. After yet another loss, it’s kind of hard to find the words. The team is bickering between each other, players are whining about not starting and then when they do, they play like crap and they just seem to be falling apart.

I read that Marvin Lewis said the seco