Stripes

Win to screw them over. Lose to improve draft pick. Woo.

It's going to be a different team moving forward. We'll see if they have the front office structure, coaching, and talent necessary to keep Joe Burrow where he belongs long-term: deep in the postseason. He can be Peyton Manning if they are good enough to give him the tools.

I'm not sure we'll ever top the futility of Ifeanyi Ohalete. Probably the worst Bengals starter since Marvin Lewis was hired (top two for me are him and Ogbuehi). But Scott is almost certainly the worst safety since Ohalete. At least I cannot think of a competitor. Rogers Beckett, Mark Roman, Kim Herring, Madieu Williams, Kevin Kaesviharn, Dexter Jackson, Chinendum Ndukwe, Marvin White, Chris Crocker, Roy Williams, Reggie Nelson, George Iloka, Shawn Williams, Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell, Daxton Hill Put them all together, and I think you have to reach back to 2003/2004 for competitors (first three listed) or maybe Marvin White.

Turner hurt. Sure.

The only good thing from this junk: Battle has clearly demonstrated he’s better than Scott.

Thursday football is bullshit.

Not doing a thing without Joe.

About ready to stop seeing deflating checkdowns to Sample. Yes, he scored against Buffalo. That's the exception, not the rule.

Not good enough, offense.

Pass protection has routinely been hot garbage on third down all season.

Hudson struggling to hear or know the plays

I'm about ready to give Nick Scott the Spike treatment

I think Trey is okay.

Probably irrelevant to the game. Likely will do anything Andrews did.

Been a while since a Bengals starter has pissed me off like Nick Scott.

Pretty much right there with you, Hokie. If the defense even so much as returns to average and doesn't allow some Baltimore-300-yards-rushing nonsense, the game is right there. Can't have the offensive line ruining Burrow's ability to control the game too. I think that's pretty much the game, and by extension pretty much the division.

I think the AFC North will be won by tomorrow's winner.

I'm whatever about Pollack. Move on, sure. I think the primary culprit behind the offensive line woes is Duke Tobin, which is unfortunate, because he's pretty great with the rest of the roster. To be clear, Tobin has tried very hard to get the line right. I wouldn't accuse him of neglecting the OL. Instead, everything he tries seems to fail (or barely break even).

I think I have a different impression to the consensus here (though I get it). The Texans loss was a gut punch, but it was also standalone in a few dimensions. That's their worst defensive game of the season and probably one of their worst ever under Anarumo. Houston was coming in very hot offensively, and the Bengals simply didn't have an answer. The Ravens have scored points, but they haven't been quite as daunting as Houston in that regard. They're more one-dimensional (at least than the Houston team that came to our stadium), and Anarumo clearly knows them better. I even think front four pass rush is less important against Baltimore than maybe any other team in the NFL. When the Bengals have been successful against Lamar, it has been with containment and mush-rushing. They'll miss Hubbard in that role, but it might be more manageable for a Murphy type if he isn't getting pressure on his own. The game may well be decided by the offensive line. They were also horrendous against the Texans. That doesn't necessarily define them, but if it happens again it will hamper Burrow and mitigate our best advantage. In the very recent past this team obliterated the 49ers on the road and made the Bills look like children. Those are just as real as the Houston failure was. The "real" Bengals team may lie somewhere in between, at least as of right this moment, and that is enough to beat Baltimore. We just need Joe Burrow to be an elite quarterback to have a shot.

I’m just gonna see what happens. It’ll be even tougher with both DEs out. But frankly, the Ravens in their current regime are never as good as they look.

Baltimore losing is a big deal. Beat them Thursday and everything is right back on the table.

Worst loss since Mike White.

Total team failure. Both picks were on Joe. Gotta regroup for Baltimore or the entire season is back in question.

Well that’ll do it. Very disappointing.

That was the single worst snap of pass protection I have ever seen.