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Coming off two brutal losses John Miller Jersey , reducing an unexpected (though exciting) 4-1 start, it makes you wonder: What should we look forward to as Cincinnati Bengals fans?Are things a bit directionless right now? The team’s 45-10 loss to Kansas City, with an entire nation watching (well, probably not entire nation), was an atomic punch that exhaled the life force that supports our fandom. Here we go again. National game. Same stupid troupes. Nothing has changed. Nothing will ever change with the same owner and coach. You probably heard these comments all week.Cincinnati has lost its identity. Their direction.Perhaps the downfall began with Tyler Eifert’s injury; since the “cant-unsee-that” injury, the Bengals offense has scored seven, 21, and 10 points against Miami, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City respectively (and it took freak fourth quarter plays against Miami to beat the Dolphins). Injuries have leveled a heavy burden on this squad. Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard haven’t played together since Baltimore, starting center Billy Price has been out since mid-September, and the tight end position, with the exception of C.J. Uzomah, is being filled by practice squad players. Maybe opposing defenses deciphered Bill Lazor’s schemes. Tyler Boyd, the darling of every fantasy football show last week, isn’t that secret weapon right now. Boyd has averaged 4.7 receptions and 44.3 yards/game in October after an impressive opening month in which he secured 6.5 receptions and 87.3 yard per game. Just double-team Green and Boyd. Who else can hurt you? John Ross is hurt, and an empty threat.Are these excuses? Yes. Excuses can support legitimate context: “Hey boss, I can’t make it to work. My car’s engine exploded.” “That’s not an excuse.” “Umm.”Dread also fills these old bones when Teryl Austin’s group takes the field. The Bengals defense has allowed four quarterbacks to surpass 350 yards passing with two offenses surpassing 195 yards rushing — they allowed only one team to generate 195 yards rushing over the last two seasons combined (and those years sucked!). Let’s be fair. Atlanta was just a shootout; games with that personality tend to carry a life of their own. Kansas City is amazing Alex Redmond Jersey , led by an offensive-minded head coach who designs plays, creating space for open receivers. And Vontaze Burfict’s return didn’t have the “savior” impact some believed it would. In fact, it’s been seriously disappointing.Perhaps this is the nature of defense in today’s game — lot of yards, but minimal gain in points allowed.Roughing the passer is called so frequently the league should think about making quarterbacks wear their red practice jerseys during games. Defensive pass interference, another subjective call, is called with regularity; offensive pass interference (or illegal picks) are given wide latitude as the league shows more concern for excitement for dollars, rather than the quality of competition.Cincinnati is on pace to allow 464 points this season — that would be the most points allowed by a Bengals defense in the last 30 years (460 in 1999, 456 in 2002, 452 in 1998). More yards, more points. Players have to execute... then again, what is this defense? Are the schemes not working? Is Austin’s defense not a fit with the players on this team? Should we be more patient? To be honest, I’m at a crossroads.Should we expect this team to significantly rebound against Tampa Bay? Should we expect a better second half performance and a possible push toward the playoffs? And if the Bengals do make it there, should we expect them to make an impact in the postseason? Should we reset?This season isn’t a wash by any means; games are to be played. Games of interest, like those against the Saints, Chargers, and any of the four division games after the bye remain on the schedule. Sundays can still be fun, if the context is isolated to that specific game. If we’re thinking about the season, those convictions feel more vulnerable.Our expectations shouldn’t be so high anymore — if they ever were. Yes Bobby Hart Jersey , Cincinnati should have beaten Pittsburgh, but whatever mental block remains in place (with an assist from officials), won’t go away. No matter what, when, where. Cincinnati can’t beat Pittsburgh. It’s silly to expect an alternative result until the Bengals actually overcome that hurdle. Their embarrassing clown show against Kansas City was an intersection between two teams headed in different directions. The Chiefs are riding with an exciting superstar quarterback and tremendous skill players, while the Bengals are struggling to recapture an identity with many contributors lost to injury.Now those games are over, the Bengals can refocus on beating a handful of mediocre teams in the next month to rebuild their confidence. They are gravitating toward a unifying theme. According to reports this week, the team had a players only meeting. Unity was the theme.“We’re all about keeping everybody together and getting us back on track. We have a group of great leaders in this locker room,” offensive lineman Trey Hopkins said. “When they have something to say, they make it known. I’m sure nothing was said that hasn’t been said already in here to you guys (the media).”The question remains: What now? Should we expect the playoffs? It seems like a distant probability. After Kansas City, it feels like Cincinnati is 1-6, rather than 4-3. Should we scratch expectations about the season, or disregard them entirely and just enjoy Sunday afternoons? I’m OK with that. Sport is recreational. Fun. A break from reality. Rather than brooding, analyzing, and conjecturing the remainder of this wacky season, crack a cold one, enjoy your Sunday afternoon games, and go about the week as normal.That Alex Redmond Jersey , I can accept. Cincinnati Bengals saga: 90 minutes after Zac Taylor says A.J. Green will play, he misses practice“It came after the walkthrough,” Taylor said. “He went and got some treatment. It just didn’t feel great, so we held him out of practice today. Now, we’ll go just by day-by-day. We felt good about the progress he was making. That’s why I said what I said. I didn’t feel like he could practice today. We’ll get through tonight and see where it’s at (Thursday).”Cincinnati Bengals QB Ryan Finley is nervous but excited for Sunday more than anythingIt’s been more than a week since Taylor shook up Cincinnati. Since then, Finley’s had a few practices as the team’s starting quarterback. The rookie conceded to The Enquirer that he’s nervous going into Sunday but declared that his jitters are a positive feeling.Matchup Of The Game: 'Cat and Mouse Game All Day'The only guys older than that game on Finley’s starting offense are in front of him in 32-year-old left tackle Andre Smith and 27-year-old center Trey Hopkins. Of the four wide receivers Finley called into work for some overtime on Tuesday’s day off, only Alex Erickson was around back then and he was just three weeks old when David Klingler got the call.A.J. Green sits out of Wednesday's practice as the Bengals continue to prep for the Ravens.A.J. Green headed out to Wednesday morning’s walk through expecting to follow it up with his first full practice of the season in the afternoon and then playing in his first game of the season Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Local 12) at Paul Brown Stadium against then Ravens.Zac Taylor and quarterback Ryan Finley answered questions from the media heading into Week 10 against the Baltimore Ravens.“It’s an exciting week for us. It’s another work week in our normal rhythm. We had the extra practice last week and an extra practice on Monday. The players were off yesterday, so now we’re ready to roll. Again, this will be a good divisional game at home. Our guys are excited. It’s a team we’ve played once before. They’re having a great season right now. They’re doing some good things, so our guys are really excited for the challenge and the great opportunity to start the second half of the season the right way. I saw our guys’ approach today and all of the installs have been good. We had the chance to get out on the field, and I know the weather is turning a little bit. That’s exciting. That’s fun. That’s life in the AFC North.”It's a trap! Ravens must overcome biggest letdown game in NFL historyOWINGS MILLS, Md. -- After toppling the unbeaten New England Patriots, the Baltimore Ravens are looking to overcome the biggest trap game of the Super Bowl era on Sunday when they play at the winless Cincinnati Bengals.Bengals vs. Ravens live stream info, TV channel: How to watch NFL on TV, stream onlineThe Baltimore Ravens will be playing 60 minutes on Sunday, but they're expected to have things wrapped up well before that. Baltimore and the Cincinnati Bengals will face off in an AFC North battle at 1 p.m. ET at Paul Brown Stadium. Baltimore is cruising in on a four-game winning streak while Cincinnati is stumbling in off of eight consecutive losses.Week 10 Preview: Ravens-BengalsThe Bengals rank last in the NFL in total defense and against the run. The Ravens have the league's No. 1 rushing offense and should be able to exploit those weaknesses, Look for running backs Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill to carry more of the load from Lamar Jackson. The Bengals do not have much of a pass rush Bobby Hart Jersey , so there's no reason for Jackson to be scrambling too much out of the pocket. The Ravens will look to take an early lead and put the Bengals away.Around the leagueDavid Johnson (ankle) 'definitely playing' vs. BucsThe 27-year-old running back added that he was close to a return last week but was kept on the sideline out of precaution. With just one carry in Week 7, Johnson hasn't seen a real workload since Oct. 13.Zeke admits other RBs have played better this seasonElliott declined to name any specific players who have sprinted out in front of him this season, but two obvious choices could be Christian McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook. CMC leads running backs with a 5.3 yards per attempt among players with at least 100 totes, and is an MVP candidate with 1,244 scrimmage yards, 881 rushing yards (second-most in the NFL), and a league-high 13 total TDs. Cook, meanwhile, leads the NFL in rushing (894) and is second in scrimmage yards (1,232), rushing TDs (9) and owns the second-highest percent of his team's scrimmage yards in 2019 (34.3).What to watch for in Chargers-Raiders on ThursdayOn Thursday, the Chargers and Raiders will battle it out one last time in the confines of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. With the rivalry set for another chapter when the Raiders venture to Las Vegas in 2020, a new chapter will begin.Patrick Mahomes a full participant at Chiefs practiceKansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the quarterback would practice Wednesday, and the team would increase his workload "a little bit more" this week to see how his knee responds. So far so good as he was a full participant for the first time since he was injured. Mahomes' practice particpation suggests he could be on the verge of returning to game action.