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Twitter reactions to Bengals coming up short against 49ers

There was plenty of frustration to be thrown around at the end of the game.

Cincinnati Bengals v Las Vegas Raiders Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The Cincinnati Bengals came up short against the San Francisco 49ers in a game littered with self-inflicted wounds by Cincinnati. It seemed like they just couldn’t get out of their own way the entire game. Even when Joe Burrow willed them to an attempted comeback, they couldn’t deliver the killing blow.

Darius Phillips

Phillips may not see the field again for the Bengals, which is really saying something. The once promising young player hasn’t caught on with this staff, and muffing two punts that led directly to 10 points. In a game where the Bengals defense really stalled out the 49ers offense most of the game it was so much more noticeable.

Stop putting Burrow in a corner

The Bengals were at the point of not even being considered to be in the game anymore, when Burrow orchestrated two touchdown drives to tie the game.

After a missed field goal from San Francisco, Cincinnati started off overtime with the ball driving down to the opponent’s 26-yard line. They did most of that damage via two passes from Burrow. Then the play calling went conservative with two runs and a passing play where Burrow didn’t have anywhere to throw.

The 49ers were able to go down to score a touchdown winning the game following the Bengals settling for a field goal. Fans were none too pleased to see their head coach take the ball out of the former Heisman winner’s hands when they had a chance to just end the game.

The road ahead

The playoffs are never easy to get into, but the Bengals did all they could to make it as hard as possible to get in this season after looking like a certainty earlier this season. They are now out of the playoffs and “in the hunt” behind the Cleveland Browns. The next four games aren’t easy ones either.

This was a very disappointing three-game stretch at home. They beat up on the Pittsburgh Steelers, but then came out flat against two west coast teams playing on the east coast. If they had won just one of these past two games they would be at the top of the AFC North right now. Instead, they now face almost a do-or-die situation every week from here on out.

It seems this team still has all the talent in the world, but they are still young and inexperienced in some areas that are crucial. The inconsistency from down-to-down and even game-to-game is maddening at some points. They are still figuring out how to come out and play at a full effort or execute properly early. It seems like too often they are getting punched in the face early and then left to swing wildly at the end to try and make up for the early damage. That just isn’t a consistent way to win football games in the NFL.

This team was thinking playoffs earlier this season. Now if they want in they’ll have to go out and earn that opportunity each week.