Just a week ago, the Cincinnati Bengals were riding a four-game winning streak, and it looked like they had regained their mojo and were re-establishing themselves as a bona fide Super Bowl contender.
A win against the young and rebuilding Houston Texans in Week 10 seemed like a near-lock. Instead, the Bengals fell behind 20-7 and lost 30-27 on a last-second field goal as rookie Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had another clutch performance.
Cincinnati’s defense got stomped in that loss, and cornerback Mike Hilton sounded the alarm afterward.
“That’s not who we are as a defense,” Hilton said. “We’ve got too many guys on this defense to give up that type of explosion. If we don’t correct it, this s–t is gonna get ugly.”
NFL News & Rumors: Mike Hilton, Cincinnati Bengals Updates
On Thursday, after a short rest and recovery period, the 5-4 Bengals will visit the 7-3 Baltimore Ravens in what has to be considered a statement game for both teams, but especially for the Bengals, who still have something to prove after getting off to a rough start this season.
“If we play like we did today, we’ll get our a– beat in Baltimore,” Hilton said. “That’s straight up. We’ve got to bow up or shut up.
“We know who we are in this locker room, and we’ve got to go prove it.”
The team lost three of its first four games as quarterback Joe Burrow struggled mightily due to a strained calf he sustained early in training camp. There were concerns that perhaps Burrow was risking a more serious injury, such as a torn Achilles, by playing on a strained calf.
While he completed 27 of 40 passes and threw two touchdown passes this past Sunday, he also had two interceptions, both of which came in the fourth quarter with his team down by two possessions. Even worse, he also had two fumbles.
But it was Cincinnati’s defense that was the main culprit in the loss. Although Stroud completed just 23 of 39 passes, it allowed him to rack up 356 passing yards while also giving up 150 rushing yards to Devin Singletary, which nearly tripled his second-highest game in terms of rushing yards this year.
A win over the Ravens would likely prove that the Bengals are truly back to form and possibly on their way to their second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons.
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