Bengals Bytes (12/11): Bears provide rock bottom for 2017 season

Former Bengals kicker Mike Nugent helps Chicago boot Cincinnati
After the game he still wasn’t quite sure of one thing: Were Cincinnati Bengals fans chanting “Nuuuuuge!” like they used to do when he played here for seven seasons? Or were they giving him a chorused “Booooo”?

'We didn't execute'
The last time the Bengals got beat so badly at Paul Brown Stadium before what the Bears did to the Bengals Sunday by a 33-7 count was Nov. 30, 2008, and A.J. Green and Andy Dalton weren’t even a gleam in head coach Marvin Lewis’ eye. He was just trying to gut through backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s year-long relief job in place of the injured Carson Palmer and it didn’t go well with Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco putting up a 34-3 number on them.

TDBH: A win in Rattler’s Riverfront farewell.
Cornerback Ken Riley, who has played more Bengals games than anyone ever while amassing the NFL’s fourth most interceptions of all-time, knows he’s going to retire before he plays his 15th season. In true Riley fashion he doesn’t announce it because he doesn’t want to bring attention to himself. But when the Bengals decide to honor him at today’s Riverfront Stadium season finale, he comes clean during his half-time speech while his teammates are lined up chanting “Rattler, Rattler,” the nickname a Bengals assistant coach bestowed the Florida A&M rookie all those years ago in honor of the school’s nickname.

Quick hits: Green, Dalton mull their worst PBS loss; Green's strange' season; Geno plays sparingly
What transpired Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium just hasn’t happened very often in the 15 seasons Marvin Lewis has head coached the Bengals. When the mushroom cloud began to dissipate over the Bears’ 33-7 victory, it was just the 12th time in his 244 games one of his clubs has been whacked by at least 26 points and only the fourth time at home, And it’s happened less even since wide receiver A.J. Green and quarterback Andy Dalton arrived in 2011. It’s the worst Paul Brown Stadium loss for them and just the fifth time they’ve been hit that hard since October of 2014 and a 43-17 Patriotic win in Foxboro.

Bears at Bengals Postgame Quotes
I’m at a loss of words today. Our football team, I thought, had a good week of preparation and we did not play close to the kind of football to win the football game today we needed to. I don’t know, that we hurt ourselves early on with penalties and errors and that we shouldn’t have, from the kicking game right away, our failure to capitalize on things offensively, and to get stops on defense. I know we had a lot of new guys and different guys, but that’s no excuse. We didn’t play well enough today.

Bears claw Bengals, 33-7
Still hung over from Monday night’s bitter, brutal Brawl in the Paul II loss to the Steelers, the Bengals went comatose Sunday and turned the Bears into the Monsters of the Midway during a 33-7 blow-out loss as stunning as Monday night’s blown 17-point lead against the Steelers. For the first time in the seven seasons of the Green-Dalton Era, they didn’t show up in any phase.

A.J. Green calls blowout loss to the Bears 'definitely embarrassing'
The Cincinnati Bengals insisted their effort wasn't the problem in a 33-7 loss to the Chicago Bears. Most of the Bengals who spoke to the media after the game defended the energy, with the exception of quarterback Andy Dalton. "We didn't have a lot of energy," Dalton said. "Offensively we didn't get that one play that gave us a spark."

With Marvin Lewis' future in Cincinnati in question, Bengals fall flat
The Bengals put on one of their most listless performances in years in a 33-7 loss to the Bears on Sunday afternoon. It seemed clear that the Bengals left everything they had on the field in a loss to the Steelers on Monday. Maybe they were still recovering from the emotionally and physically draining game. Maybe they simply couldn’t handle losing five defensive starters this week.

AJ McCarron makes fourth-quarter appearance for Cincinnati Bengals
Former Alabama All-American AJ McCarron threw his first passes in an NFL regular-season game in almost two years on Sunday. With the Cincinnati Bengals carrying a 5-7 record into the final quarter of the 2017 season and trailing the Chicago Bears 33-7, McCarron got his first chance to run the Cincinnati offense when the Bengals pulled starting quarterback Andy Dalton with 4:30 left in the game.

NFL Week 14 Grades: Cowboys get an 'A' for routing Giants, Bengals get an 'F'
The Cowboys needed a win to keep their faint playoff hopes alive and Rod Smith clearly got that memo, because he responded by having the biggest game of his career.

Not only did the Dallas running back rush for 47 yards and a touchdown, but he also caught five passes for 113 yards and another touchdown in the Cowboys' 30-10 win over the Giants on Sunday.

Bengals' Carlos Dunlap: Suffers chest injury
Dunlap left Sunday's game against the Bears with a chest injury and is questionable to return. Dunlap has 3.5 sacks in his last three matchups prior to Sunday, and he's consistently logging near full snap counts. For the time being, Chris Smith and Jordan Willis will slot in at defensive end.

Analysis: Bears deliver rock bottom for Bengals
Call it uninspired. Call it a Steelers hangover. Call it quitting as the season fades away. Call it a team that was never quite good enough. Or call it rock bottom. Just call it an unceremonious ending to any tiny sliver of hope remaining in the Bengals’ 2017 season. And perhaps the unceremonious ending to an era.

AFC North Bytes

Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown Go Wild as Steelers Come Back to Beat Ravens
For the third straight week, a Chris Boswell field goal was the difference in a Pittsburgh Steelers victory. Pittsburgh overcame a nine-point deficit in the closing minutes to escape with a 39-38 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night, extending their winning streak to eight games and clinching the AFC North in the process.

Why were Browns receivers wearing sunglasses on the sideline after touchdowns?
The future looked so bright for the Browns offense early on Sunday, they had to wear shades. At least the wide receivers did. After Josh Gordon scored the Browns' first touchdown with 4:45 left in the first quarter to tie the game at 7 against Green Bay, he was handed a pair of sunglasses as he came to the sideline and strutted around wearing them.

Random Bytes

Steelers win for Ryan Shazier; Eagles lose Carson Wentz
I think they’re gonna get killed. I picked the Bengals to beat ’em. I picked the Ravens to win by one. They’re down 17-0 to the Bengals, and I think I’m looking pretty good. The Ravens are up 31-20 in the fourth quarter, and it looks like I made the right pick. But they’re an amazing team. They’re a confounding team. But against New England, without Shazier in the middle, I just don’t see it. To win, they gotta get in Tom Brady’s face, and they gotta score a ton of points

Report: Carson Wentz's Knee Injury Feared to Be Torn ACL; Will Undergo MRI
Carson Wentz's dream season appears to be over. The Philadelphia Eagles believe their MVP-candidate quarterback suffered a torn ACL in Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Rams, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. An MRI is scheduled to confirm the injury, which happened on a touchdown drive in the third quarter. Initial tests don't show a complete tear, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, who added Wentz will undergo an MRI Monday and the team isn't giving up hope.

Seahawks-Jaguars fight product of frustration: 'That's the way it goes'
"F— y’all," Linder screamed in the direction of Seattle players as he entered the Jacksonville locker room. "Y'all are b—es!" Linder’s profane outburst stemmed from an altercation spurred by Seattle’s decision to attack Jacksonville’s victory formation. With the game in hand and 54 seconds remaining, Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles was in the process of taking a knee when two Seahawks defensive linemen tried crashing into him as a third (Michael Bennett) dove at Linder’s knees.