CINCINNATI – Jaycee Horn put it certainly in a somber traveler’s locker room at Paycor Stadium. Carolina’s protection knew what to anticipate from the Bengals on Sunday, but the organization failed to execute the plan.
Horn stated Carolina had organized for “plenty of quick sport” from Cincinnati’s offense and felt prepared earlier than the matchup began. But it speedily got far away from the Panthers, who went into halftime down 35-0 and never positioned up a powerful fight in a forty-two-21 loss.
“(We) got exactly what we knew was coming,” Horn said. “simply failed to do a great job preventing it.”
The defense wasn’t the simplest unit that let up in Cincinnati, as the Panthers struggled via an abysmally sluggish start on offense to more than one penalty on special teams.
However, the run defense was mainly terrible. The Bengals blew beyond their previous season-excessive rushing performance (133 yards) earlier than halftime, and running back Joe Mixon had one of the first-class days of his career. Cincinnati, which entered the day ranked thirtieth with a mean of eighty-one. 0 dashing yards consistent with the game, put up 241 yards on the ground Sunday.
Intervening time train Steve Wilks said it changed into an “aggregate of everything” that performed into the defense’s loss of efficiency, from failure to set edges to hand approach at the same time as getting off blocks.
Mixon completed 22 tries for 153 yards, the 0.33-maximum single-sport total of his profession. He also broke a Bengals franchise record with 5 general touchdowns (four rushings, one receiving).
“They did a terrific process with their speeding plan,” shielding end Brian Burns stated. “Joe Mixon played the first-rate recreation. However, I think it comes right down to us. This is our mistake.
“(Mixon) is a huge, short return. … he is a tough man to tackle.”
The Bengals were coming off a dull loss to the Browns on Monday night time when they positioned up just 36 rushing yards on 10 includes.
“We did not execute the manner we desired to,” Burns stated. “They didn’t without a doubt do anything that we did not recognize changed into coming. It simply comes all the way down to execution, making tackles. There had been a number of missed tackles.”
Burns treated what turned into introduced as a neck injury early in the sport. He said in a while that he felt “excellent” and chalked it as much as “nicks and bruises.” He wasn’t the only starter coping with discomfort, as protecting tackle Derrick Brown battled an infection before the game and tried to strength thru, subsequently exiting the game after halftime. Cornerback Donte Jackson became active but did not play as he keeps to recover from an ankle injury.
Shielding again Myles Hartsfield persisted to add to his workload in an injured secondary. Safety Jeremy Chinn (hamstring) remains on injured reserve, and Juston Burris (concussion) was ruled out earlier than Sunday.
Hartsfield said he felt just like the protection wasn’t “playing collectively” towards the Bengals, though he agreed that he’d want to appear over the movie from the loss before pinpointing other troubles.
“It’s just the communique part, trusting each different, being for your gap,” Hartsfield said. “now not trying to make any individual else’s play, making the performs that come to you and your home, specifically inside the run sport; (it’s) simply being capable of believing the human beings around you that they’ll go do their jobs, so you can do your task.”
Horn described a “disillusioned, upset” temper within the locker room. And Wilks, though surprised by what had ensued, knows there is not a whole lot of time to reflect before Thursday’s game with Atlanta,
“Did I assume us to play the way we did? Now not in a million years,” Wilks stated. “I am no longer going to impeach the effort. (we’ve) were given to observe the tape and spot (each play) exactly from each angle. However I’m proud of those guys, and I’m seeking out us to come again the day after today and bounce back.”
