Bengals News (9/23): Cincinnati couldn’t finish

Doc: Checks better start cashing; a few ways to look at Cincinnati Bengals’ loss to Buffalo
Taylor glimpses that possible future for his 0-3 team. He sees his biggest job at the moment as making sure the center holds. A rookie head coach in the NFL can be no match for a jaded veteran, if none of the offseason feelgood comes to pass. Taylor’s brave and admirable optimism becomes less viable with every L. At some point soon, the checks better start cashing, lest the wolves find the door and start banging.

Complete Game Eludes Bengals Again
With the AFC North now officially an open house starting next Sunday with tours set for 1 and 4 p.m., now that three of the four teams are tagged with either two losses (the Browns) or three (the Bengals and Steelers), the tight losses in Seattle and Buffalo are purely galling. (When was the last time the Bengals and Steelers were both 0-3, as they are for next Monday night at Heinz Field? It looks like never.)

What They Are Saying: Postgame Quotes After Week 3
Another tough loss. We dug ourselves a hole there in the first half. Which is killer and two games in a row now. But again at some point this stuff is going to pay off the way our guys are fighting for each other in the second half. It was dark there we’re on the road, tough environment down 14 to nothing offense wasn’t getting a whole lot of good going even at the start of the 3rd quarter and the defense kept stepping up and making plays for us. Eventually the offense caught up and made some plays and got us in this game and unfortunate we couldn’t finish it off in the end. But again we are 0-3 and it sucks it feels terrible but I’m confident in the guys in the room and were going to get some wins out of this thing. It’s only a matter of time and they believe in each other and that’s all we can ask for right now. We know we got a big one coming up next week and we will be fired up and ready to roll.

Quick Hits: Fiery Taylor Asks Bengals To Stay Connected
Basically, he was telling his players in a raised, animated voice to hang in because they’re playing tough enough and battling enough to win. Safety Jessie Bates admitted that was a new side to Taylor.

Bengals Come Up Short At Buffalo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s 49-yard pass to wide-open tight end Dawson Knox was a back-breaker Sunday, coming just moments after the Bengals had taken their first lead of the day with 4:54 left. That set up running back Frank Gore’s third-down one-yard run over his left guard and with the help of three tight ends and a fullback for the touchdown with 1:50 left gave the Bills a 21-17 victory.

Bills Defense Makes it Tough on Bengals
By the time Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard forced a fumble recovered by middle linebacker Preston Brown at the Bengals 11 with 7:23 left in the first half, quarterback Andy Dalton had completed just one of his six passes during 3:55 of possession and that was a catch by wide receiver John Ross that he fumbled away.

Week 3 Gallery: Bengals at Bills
Check out game action photos from the Week 3 contest against the Buffalo Bills.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor didn’t seem to know NFL rules during tantrum
The Cincinnati Bengals are led by a rookie head coach, Zac Taylor, who should be well versed on NFL rules given his experience as a position coach in Miami and Los Angeles.

After rallying from 14-0 down to take lead Bengals fall to Bills on late TD
After the Bengals rallied from a 14-0 deficit they faced against the Buffalo Bills midway through the third quarter to take a 17-14 lead with 4:54 left, Buffalo got a one-yard touchdown by Frank Gore with 1:50 left that gave the Bills a 21-17 win on Sunday at New Era Field.

Bengals fall to 0-3 for the second time in three years
The defense needs better play out of its linebackers, who have looked shaky to start the season. When the pass rush isn’t effective, it tends to lead to big plays. And on the offensive side, the Bengals have to find ways to move the ball consistently.

Around the league

What we learned from Sunday's Week 3 NFL games
2. Believe it or not, the Rams (3-0) are off to a terribly slow start -- if not in the standings, then in-game. Against Cleveland, the Rams failed to score a first-half touchdown for the second time this season, something that happened only once in 2018. Los Angeles fared much better in the second half when it led with Todd Gurley (14 attempts, 43 yards) and established the play-action off of the ground threat. The beneficiaries of L.A.'s stretch play-action on this night were Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp, the latter of whom followed up his brilliant Week 2 with another standout game. Seemingly always open and always on time, Kupp led all players with 11 receptions for 102 yards and two scores. Los Angeles is not quite operating at the level of previous Sean McVay offenses; the run game has been mostly neutralized, the youth and health of the offensive line is suspect and points are harder to come by. But Los Angeles is still undefeated, and with their NFC West rivals in San Francisco keeping pace, that's all that matters.

Earl Thomas promises Ravens-Chiefs rematch
The Baltimore Ravens couldn't keep Patrick Mahomes from exploding once again, giving up 23 straight points to the reigning NFL MVP in the second quarter. Ultimately, the Ravens fell 33-28 to the highflying Kansas City Chiefs.

Saints lean on 'human joystick' Kamara in road win
In the Saints' impressive 33-27 road win in Seattle, the running back toted the rock 16 times for 69 yards with a touchdown and was targeted 10 times, catching nine passes for 92 yards and another TD. Of the Saints 51 offensive plays, Kamara saw the ball his way 26 times.

Freddie Kitchens rues 'bad' fourth-and-9 draw play
In the shotgun with Nick Chubb situated to his right, Baker Mayfield faked the hike with a loud cadence, acting as though he was trying to draw the Rams offside. But with two seconds left on the play clock, center JC Tretter snapped the ball to Mayfield who then gave it to Chubb on a delayed handoff. Running right, Chubb was met with contact by Dante Fowler one yard behind the line of scrimmage before being smothered by Eric Weddle following a two-yard gain.

Emmanuel Sanders: Broncos 'living in a world of suck'
A 27-16 loss to the Packers on Sunday dropped Denver to 0-3, marking the franchise's worst start since a star-crossed 1999 campaign that saw John Elway retire before the season and Terrell Davis tear his ACL in Week 4. The Broncos aren't dealing with anything close to that type of turnover presently, but Sanders sounds like he's operating in a similarly sad space.

Giants RB Saquon Barkley hurts ankle vs. Buccaneers
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports that Barkley will undergo an MRI exam on Monday to determine the severity of his ankle injury. Giants coach Pat Shumur did not have an update on Barkley's status after the game except to say he should have more information Monday.