Quarterback Joe Burrow was spectacular in Cincinnati’s Monday Night game against the Washington Commanders. Unfortunately, his counterpart that evening was even better. Photo Credit: Bengals.com/Ryan Meyer

By Dr. John Huang

(Cincinnati, Oh.) – When it’s Monday night under the bright lights and hordes of Bengals fans are packed into Paycor Stadium expecting a triumphant bounce-back win for the home team, you’d think they would win.

You’d be wrong.

You would think that a night featuring Joe Burrow throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns, Ja’Marr Chase racking up 118 yards and two scores, and a solid 120-yard combined rushing effort from Chase Brown and Zack Moss would be enough to secure the much-needed victory.

You’d be wrong.

You’d think that a Bengals’ offense that didn’t turn the ball over, didn’t even punt, and piled up an impressive 436 total yards would come out on top in this one, right?

You’d be wrong.

In a season that has gone from bad to worse, it wasn’t the Cincinnati Bengals (0 – 3) who walked away victorious but the Washington Commanders (2 – 1). The 38 – 33 shocker of an upset was led by none other than rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Yes, that Jayden Daniels—the Heisman-winning phenom out of LSU, making just his third NFL start.

Daniels was nothing short of magical. He completed 21 of 23 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, including a 27-yard strike to Terry McLaurin late in the game to crush the Bengals’ hopes. It was as if the football gods decided to give Cincinnati fans a front-row seat to Daniels’ coronation.

On their initial drive, it appeared the Bengals were playing like a team that knew its season was on the line. They stormed down the field on their opening possession with Joe Burrow hitting Ja’Marr Chase for a 41-yard bomb, capping a 6-play, 71-yard blitzkrieg in just over three minutes. It was Burrow’s 100th career touchdown pass. The crowd roared—it felt like the night belonged to Cincinnati.

But Jayden Daniels had other plans.

Poised beyond his years, Daniels orchestrated a 10-play, 70-yard drive to match the Bengals’ opening salvo. Commanders’ running back Brian Robinson punched it in from a yard out, and just like that, it was 7-7.

Things went downhill for Cincinnati from there as the Bengals kicked field goals and the Commanders scored touchdowns. A 21 – 13 halftime deficit triggered a chorus of boos as a definite pall settled in over the disgruntled fans in the stands.

If there was a Knute Rockne speech in the Bengals’ locker room, it certainly didn’t translate onto the field. The Commanders Austin Ekeler took the second-half kickoff back 62 yards and Daniels led a nine-play, 33-yard drive that chewed up five minutes of clock. Ekeler punched in another score for a 28 – 13 Commanders’ lead as the Bengals’ season officially entered life support.

Burrow being Burrow, the Bengals weren’t ready to pull the plug. Rallying back to within 31 – 26 with 9:42 left in the game, all the defense needed was a single stop. They didn’t get it. After a critical Trey Hendrickson sack, Daniels overcame a second-and-20 with three passes of eight, eight, and nine yards, including a fourth and four game breaker against the blitz.

Seven times the Commanders’ offense had third-and-two or shorter, or fourth-and-two or shorter. Six times they got the first down.

“You know, (Washington is) a good offense, (but) we gotta get stops,” a frustrated Zac Taylor said afterwards. “We never really put them in a third-and-long situation until that last one. That was really the first time that we put them behind the chains. When they dictated the tempo, which they did — they were on the ball; they dictated the tempo — they kept themselves in really manageable situations.”

Sensing the urgency, Taylor and Burrow had a conversation immediately after the final horn.

“It was a very positive conversation,” Burrow said. “We’re not happy with where we’re at, but by no means is the season over. We’re 0 – 3. There’s 14 left to play. We just have to continue to get better and see where the cards fall in the next 10 weeks.”

So here we are. The Cincinnati Bengals, after an offseason full of hope, hype, and Super Bowl expectations, sit winless. The numbers don’t lie—teams that start 0 – 3 rarely make the playoffs. No team starting 0 – 3 has ever hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.

I’m not quite ready to call it quits. The Bengals three losses have all been one-score games. A tweak here or there can still turn this thing around. All their divisional games remain. But if Cincinnati doesn’t find a way to tighten up its defense, they’ll be watching Daniels—and the rest of the NFL—play deep into January from the comfort of their living rooms.

Dr. John Huang is a retired orthodontist, military veteran, and award-winning author. He currently covers the Bengals for Sports View America. You can follow him on social media @KYHuangs and check out his debut novel, “Name, Image, and Murder” and all his books at https://www.Amazon.com/stores/Dr.-John-Huang/author/B092RKJBRD