Bengals Bytes (1/13): Moving on

Report Card: Final grades for 2015 Cincinnati Bengals season | www.mydaytondailynews.com
While the overriding feeling from the Cincinnati Bengals 2015 season will be disappointment after a fifth-consecutive loss in the first round of the playoffs, the team still tied the franchise record with victories by going 12-4 and won its second AFC North Division championship in three years.

Vets vow no hangover
The two guys who were around here in 2006, the 8-8 year after that traumatic play-off loss to the Steelers ten years ago, say the Bengals won’t have any kind of a hangover after coming so agonizingly close to post-season victory on Saturday night. "This is a much di

Doc: 5 questions for angry Bengals fans
This is the final day for spleen-cleaning around here. After today, Playoff Loss VII will be dispatched to the dust bin of history, along with the previous VI. For now, a few more questions

Players: Marvin Lewis has not lost control
In the early hours of Sunday morning, with the Cincinnati Bengals locker room near empty, AJ McCarron was still trying to find words to describe his feelings on a stunning loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With a maroon Crimson Tide hat pulled down around his head, he leaned against the wall outside the equipment room, and in a nearly 10-minute decompression session, he would at times pause to breathe, to search for words and explanations for an 18-16 heartbreaker.

Cincinnati Bengals: 5 Key Players to Re-Sign
The Cincinnati Bengals have several players who could become free agents. It will be key to re-sign as many guys as they can. Here are five, to start.

Houston Texans' Devon Still on Leah Still: 'My daughter BEAT CANCER'
Her fight inspired millions of people, and today Leah Still, the daughter of new Houston Texans defensive tackle Devon Still, won it. Devon Still posted a message on Instagram and Twitter saying Leah is finished with her treatments.

Report: 49ers no longer in running for Hue Jackson
When Hue Jackson interviewed with the 49ers on Sunday, there was a report that he could be named the team’s next head coach by the end of the day.

Vontaze Burfict of Cincinnati Bengals hopes to meet with Roger Goodell over suspension
Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict is hoping a sit-down in the coming days with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell may result in the three-game suspension the league handed him Monday night being reduced, a source close to Burfict said Tuesday.

Pacman Jones: I’ll apologize if Antonio Brown doesn’t play
Bengals cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones insists that Steelers receiver Antonio Brown was faking when he fell to the ground after being hit by Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict on Saturday. But Jones is willing to at least leave room for the possibility that he could be wrong.

Bengals Beat Podcast: Playoff Fallout
Bengals beat writers Paul Dehner Jr. and Jim Owczarski attempt to chip away at the avalanche of fallout from Saturday night's 18-16 loss to the Steelers. We touch on Marvin Lewis' control over the team, the reality of Vontaze Burfict's persona, the reaction of Jeremy Hill and the most confounding element of a wild night at Paul Brown Stadium.

Vance Joseph leaves Bengals for Dolphins DC job
Bengals defensive backs coach Vance Joseph is moving on to Miami. After two years spent developing Cincinnati cornerbacks the position coach was hired as the defensive coordinator for new Dolphins head coach Adam Gase. Joseph takes with him Bengals linebackers coach Matt Burke, who will take on the same role in Miami.

Browns confirm second interview with Hue Jackson; no offer yet
The Browns confirmed Tuesday evening that they’ve interviewed Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson for a second time for their vacant head coaching position. That makes two Browns-Jackson interviews in fewer than 48 hours, but the team has not offered Jackson a contract.

Not at Whit's end
Like everyone else, Pro Bowl left tackle Andrew Whitworth, was devastated Saturday night. The 18-16 Wild Card loss to the Steelers left the team elder so numb that he can’t even remember what time he left the locker room in the wee hours of Sunday morning. But it didn’t take it all out of him. At age 34, the oldest Bengal is ready to saddle up for at least one more ride in 2016 in what will be his 11th season.

Random Bytes

Raiders withdraw relocation request
The Black Hole won’t be empty, at least not yet. Per multiple reports, the Raiders have withdrawn their application to move to Los Angeles. The move undoubtedly means that the Raiders have chosen to let the Rams and Chargers partner up in L.A.

Tomlin says Porter didn’t get game ball, won’t say much else
Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin made it clear Tuesday that he wants to talk about the Broncos and his team’s game Sunday in Denver, not about assistant coach Joey Porter and what happened last Saturday in Cincinnati.

St. Louis Rams' move to L.A. not without its challenges
In April 1995, Rams owner Georgia Frontiere agreed to pay $46 million for the right to move her team from California to St. Louis. On that same day, owners approved Frontiere's selling of 30 percent of the team to a man named Stan Kroenke. A little more than 20 years later, Kroenke is taking the Rams back to California.

Why Chiefs Are the Most Dangerous Team to Emerge from NFL Wild Card Weekend
The opening round of the 2015-16 NFL postseason is now in the books, and what a Wild Card Weekend it was. In fact, wild is probably the only way to describe much of what went down. The Seattle Seahawks needed a missed field goal from the Minnesota Vikings to pull out a win. The Green Bay Packers stormed back from an early 11-0 hole to win their matchup with the Washington Redskins. The Cincinnati Bengals had their game in hand, but one of the most epic late-game meltdowns in postseason history allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to steal it.

2016 NFL Free Agency: Ranking Every Position
Eight teams remain in the hunt for Super Bowl 50.  That means 24 NFL teams are making plans for the future. Last week we took an early look at the 2016 unrestricted free-agency class (thanks to Spotrac) and examined the best players at each position who could be available in early March (emphasis on "could").