A Quarter of a Century of Waiting

Fans of Cincinnati sports are starving. The last truly great year for sports team in the Queen City was 1990. That was the year the Cincinnati Reds pulled off an improbable sweep over the reigning and defending champions of Major League Baseball, the Oakland Athletics, in the World Series. The 1990 season was the last time the Cincinnati Bengals were victorious in the postseason when they defeated the Houston Oilers by a score of 41-14 in the first round of the playoffs.

Since then, Cincinnati has known nothing but heartache when it comes to their professional sports teams. Aside from the Reds making it to the National League Championship Series in 1995 and the success of the Cincinnati Cyclones in the East Coast Hockey League, neither the Reds nor the Bengals have given the Queen City a reason to celebrate in the playoffs. There was hope that the Bengals would be able to break through and finally win in the postseason this year, but the Indianapolis Colts stomped the Bengals into the ground and out of the playoffs by a score of 26-10.

Things looked bright at the end of the first quarter as the Bengals and Colts were tied at 7 all, and it appeared that the Bengals were able to establish a running game, which was one of the key factors for the Bengals to be successful. Unfortunately that was not the case as the defense of the Colts suffocated the Bengals offense for the remaining three quarters.

The rushing attack was a nonfactor for the rest of the game as Bengals running back Jeremy Hill managed to only amass 47 yards on the ground off 13 carries with only one touchdown. The passing game was not much better for the Bengals either. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton threw for a total of 155 yards and no touchdowns. Bengals running back Giovani Bernard led the team with eight receptions for a total of 46 yards.

The Colts on the other hand were able to manhandle the defense of the Bengals. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck simply tore up the defense in route to throwing for 376 yards and a touchdown. Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton had 6 receptions for 103 yards. Colts running back Boom Herron had 10 receptions for 85 yards and ran the ball 12 times for a total of 56 yards and a touchdown.

While the ugly performance turned in by the Bengals can be attributed to their poor play, the injuries the Bengals suffered were no doubt a big factor as to why they lost. Bengals receiver A.J. Green, arguably the best player on the team, was out of the game due to a concussion that was the result of a vicious hit to the head last week when the Bengals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham was out with a back injury. Early in the second quarter, Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga left the game with what appeared to be a leg injury. The injuries were simply too much to overcome, and as a result, the performance of the Bengals suffered as well. Without Maualuga, the defense could not stop the offense of the Colts, and the lack of a running game as well as Dalton’s two favorite targets in Green and Gresham all contributed to a fourth straight loss in the playoffs.

So what does this mean for the Bengals? It means that the chip on their shoulder just got bigger. It means the pressure on this team to win in the postseason has increased tremendously. It means that the next opportunity the Bengals will have to end the drought will be 25 years, a quarter of a century, after their last postseason victory.

At least Opening Day is in 92 days. Go Redlegs!