Two heavyweights met in the middle of the ring last night on Thursday Night Football as the Bengals looked to pull an upset on the road over the Ravens in a must-win for Cincinatti.
The game really got exciting in the second half when both teams started lighting up the scoreboard. Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase did everything in his power to will Cincy to a win, going for 264 yards and three touchdowns including a 64-yard score that was all thanks to Chase’s elite speed. trailing by 7 with under a minute to play, Joe Burrow found Chase again in the end zone to bring them within one. Then we saw one of the tougher decisions in coaching play out. Should you kick the extra point and try to tie the game or go for two and win it all right there? It’s a decision that coaches are praised for if they get right and criticized heavily if they get it wrong. The Bengals went for two but could not convert, however, Bengals fans were left upset not because they couldn’t score, but because the refs missed two blatant penalties against the Ravens. One was a holding call on tight end Mike Gesicki and the other clear contact to the head and facemask of Joe Burrow that was also not called.
But, to the decision to go for two. In the Chiefs most recent victory over the Bucs, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles was faced with the same situation but decided to kick the extra point and play it out in overtime. Only problem for the Bucs was Patrick Mahomes was on the other sideline. Many (including myslef) feel they should have gone for two to try and win it because what else do you have to lose? Which is why I am OK with Zach Taylor’s decision last night. It is unfortunate that it had to end with missed penalties, but at least you tried it and gave yourself a chance to win instead of leaving it up to a coin toss essentially. The Ravens pulled out the 35-34 victory and improved to 7-3 while the Bengals season just got a lot tighter as they fall to 4-6.
Let’s hope this game was foreshadowing for what’s to come this weekend!
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