Cincinnati Bengals .
sAD NEWS:Cincinnati Bengals Chiefs announced that Rashee Rice is Leaving immediately after Facing….
Identity. It can be the main focus of conversations surrounding sports teams at any level.
The Bengals’ staff and players have been asked about their identity a lot over the years. The identity of an NFL team can make or break their chances, especially when they hit the rockiest points of the year.
The Bengals had to deal with adversity before the season started. Joe Burrow suffered a calf injury on July 27, missed the entire preseason and they started the season 1-3.
The themes of cohesion and confidence underpinned the next four weeks. At 1-3, players continued to make promises that they would stick together and rebound after a slow start. With Burrow’s health improving, it was an easy concept for most fans to hold onto.
At 1-3, Cincinnati was knocked down, but got right back up and continued to fight, winning four games in a row against Arizona, Seattle, San Francisco and Buffalo.
Belief on the outside was restored, but being knocked down only to get back up is part of Cincinnati’s identity.
The hits kept coming. A loss to Houston in Week 10 was rough and they lost Burrow for the season four days later when he suffered a wrist injury against Baltimore.
Less than 24 hours later they found out that Burrow’s injury required season-ending wrist surgery.
Many thought Week 12 would be the KO of the 2023 Bengals.
A Steelers team who’s foundation under Mike Tomlin has been built to be physical and suffocating lived up to their reputation in the 16-10 win. Pat Freiermuth had a career-high nine catches for 120 yards. Pittsburgh ran the ball 33 times for 153 yards and they completely smothered any hopes of getting a ground game established as Joe Mixon saw just eight carries touches for 16 yards. Chase Brown didn’t get an offensive snap and the Bengals fell to 5-6 on the season.
Fans gasped as their team was on the floor of the AFC fighting ring again. The Bengals continued the fight, despite being bloody and bruised—they were ready to fight another round.
Zac Taylor didn’t panic and vowed to make changes ahead of their matchup with the Jaguars on Monday Night Football.
A bedrock of Cincinnati’s identity is to fight even harder when their backs are against the wall.
