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We all had a good laugh about the cat who ran onto the field at MetLife Stadium during the November 4th matchup between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football, but the aftermath was something no one could have anticipated.
Since that fateful evening, The NFL’s four “cat” teams (the Detroit Lions, the Carolina Panthers, the Jacksonville Jaguars and your Cincinnati Bengals) all failed to win a game for the remainder of the month.
The MNF Cat Curse is real
— ESPN (@espn) November 30, 2019
Since the black cat sighting on November 4th, the NFL's cat teams have lost every game they've played. (h/t Reddit u/Duval11) pic.twitter.com/1ijGeSVFlN
That is insane!
How do all of the cat teams lose for three weeks?
By contrast, the five “bird teams” (the Atlanta Falcons, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Arizona Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Baltimore Ravens) went a combined 7-6 during the same time span.
Prior to this feline interruption, the Lions were 3-4-1. Having last won a week prior against the Giants.
The Panthers were 5-3 and had won 5 of their last 6 games (the only loss coming to the San Francisco 49ers).
The Jacksonville Jaguars were 4-5.
Sure, none of those teams was making a case for themselves as a Super Bowl contender, but it is unbelievable that those three teams lost their next 11 games combined (including this week’s games that are not referenced in the tweet above).
Then there are the Bengals.
They came into the curse winless and depleted by injuries. Nobody expected anything of them and it was not a huge surprise that they continued to lose, but then they won.
That’s right. This story has an unexpected hero, for it was the Bengals who thwarted the Jets attempt at a win this Sunday and as a result broke the curse of the MetLife Cat.
You are welcome Lions, Panthers, and Jaguars fans.
The infamous MetLife Cat is still at large and definitely not sitting on my lap as I write this.