Inside Football: The Bengals really look for real after humbling Seahawks

I remain a Bengals skeptic. But I admit that my position becomes less firm by the week.

Until Cincinnati wins a playoff game, I choose to deny its ability to do so. Everything now is just a precursor to January. Not much else matters. But the more I see of this team, the less surprised I will be if they finally make some noise in the postseason.

Sunday’s crazy comeback win over the Seahawks felt as much like a playoff game as any mid-October contest could, and the way this team responded had to buoy coach Marvin Lewis and make him feel as if maybe this group will be primed to make something happen. Maybe, should the Bengals hit some adversity in their first playoff game this year, they will be able to call upon this surprising 27-24 overtime win. Cincinnati came back from being down 24-7 deep in the second half Sunday and found a way to get over its long bugaboo.

Lewis was quick not to get too caught up in the overriding excitement of the win -- he’s been burned too many times in January to fall prey to October highs -- and he’ll continue to remind his 5-0 club that it hasn’t accomplished anything yet. I can’t help but wonder, though, if Lewis feels deep inside that this team is now truly ready to take the next step. The coach was asked whether he felt the Bengals were special after watching his team overcome the steepest of odds.

“No,” Lewis quickly retorted. “It’s early in the season. We’ve got a lot of football left.”

But the manner in which his team and quarterback Andy Dalton rallied was certainly not ordinary. Seattle stormed ahead to an early lead in the second quarter when Dalton locked in on A.J. Green, again, in the end zone and Earl Thomas picked it off. That set up the go-ahead score. When Bobby Wagner returned a fumble for another score in the middle of the third quarter, Seattle led 24-7. Then the Bengals began to dominate on both sides of the ball.

Down 17 points entering the fourth quarter, the Bengals held the ball for 9:44 in the final 15 minutes, with Dalton remarkably crisp and the defense beginning to assault Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. The Seahawks were suffocated and their secondary, impenetrable for three games since Kam Chancellor returned at strong safety, was now utterly outclassed, the ultimate rarity. The Bengals had 10 first downs to one for the Seahawks. Seattle ran 10 plays for 27 yards in the quarter. The Bengals scored on all three drives in the quarter and rolled up 173 yards on 22 plays.

Dalton completed the first nine passes he attempted in the quarter and ended that fourth quarter 10-for-12 for 105 yards with a touchdown pass and a rushing touchdown. He continued what has been far and away the best season to his career, getting better through the game despite being under fire from the pass rush and finishing his day a gaudy 30-for-44 for 333 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. And the quarterback, still feeling the rush of adrenaline that comes with this result after having showered and dressed, was less restrained than his coach, and lingered much longer in the moment having bettered an opponent that has represented the NFC in the last two Super Bowls.

“It’s a huge win for us,” Dalton said. “It shows the fight of this team for us to do that against a really good team. ... We needed it. It was big for us and I’m so proud of our guys.”

How much of this, if any, translates beyond the regular season remains to be seen. But it’s about as close as the Bengals could come to a Super Bowl test this early in the year, and if they keep this up they’ll be hosting at least one playoff game this winter. And they might even find a way to win it.

Fear the automatic field goal

This kicking scare is real. These dudes are spooked. Even the very good ones. Matt Bryant missing from 38 yards was wild, and then he hits the opposite crossbar with a kick he normally makes, especially at his home dome in Atlanta. At about the same time Justin Tucker missed in Baltimore. The carnage just continues to mount.

Sure, some like youngster Travis Coons in Cleveland are bucking the trend, but Greg Zuerlein, who once appeared like he might push Tucker for the title of best young kicker, was awful for the Rams. He seemed lost at Lambeau Field on Sunday. And the Saints are still having kicking issues as well. I dare say this is going to be a trend that isn’t going away anytime soon.

More news and notes from around the NFL:

	Arizona Cardinals
People refuse to give the Cardinals the credit they deserve and I bet they keep blowing the doors off teams until we all notice. That loss to the Rams was nothing to be ashamed of, and few teams in the NFL have been better at building off early success in games and developing a quick killer instinct as this Arizona bunch. Carson Palmer is playing the best football of his career and it’s not even close.
	Atlanta Falcons
You have to love the aggressiveness of the Falcons. They don’t quit, they have been a strong fourth-quarter team and coordinator Kyle Shanahan has willed confidence into this unit, repeatedly going for it on fourth down, pushing the pace on offense and cranking up the run game. They survived a scare from the Redskins and remain undefeated. Dan Quinn’s defense continues to flash signs of a big-play unit -- see the game-winning pick six – while making strides stopping the run. Washington had just 51 yards on 24 carries. That trend should carry this team to a division title if it continues. The Falcons wore out the Redskins, rushing 32 times (they routinely top 30 attempts per game) for 176 yards on a day when Julio Jones seemed far less than 100 percent and when Matt Ryan fell into a rut of being far too willing to casually hand the ball to the opposing team. Devonta Freeman is the bell cow and in this scheme he might be able to help carry this team further than anyone would have imagined.
	Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens’ lack of discipline isn’t getting nearly enough attention. It’s actually more rampant than Buffalo’s, and it is a hallmark of the offense, defense and special teams. On Sunday against the Browns, the Ravens amassed six penalties for 63 yards in the first half alone. They lost about 30 yards due to a penalty on the opening kickoff return and stayed in character all game. Late hits kept drives going. Personal fouls negated interceptions. They were penalized 12 times for 98 yards on the day and this team isn’t nearly talented enough in any aspect of play to continue to play in such a brazen fashion. This team could easily be 0-5, and it continues to look like a lost season in Baltimore.
	Buffalo Bills
The Bills have major issues. A tip of the hat for winning Sunday in comeback fashion, but that’s mostly a credit to the fact that the Titans don’t know how to put teams away yet and the nifty feet of quarterback Tyrod Taylor. “T-Mobile” accomplished with his feet what he couldn’t muster with his arm. The offense is a mess and the defense isn’t as good as everyone said it was going to be, and I find I have more reservations about this team by the week. The offense punted five straight times in the first half, had three three-and-outs, and Taylor was 5-for-11 for 36 yards. With LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams out, the rushing game was no factor at all. The Titans outgained Buffalo 170-51 in the first half, but led just 3-0 and that ended up undermining them. Make no mistake, this is not a comeback template the Bills could easily duplicate, with Taylor rushing seven times for 74 yards and a touchdown. The rest of the team ran 20 times for, gulp, 51 yards. The Bills had 209 net yards in the game and the offense continues to constrict by the week. McCoy is set to be out a while and Williams is likely missing another week, too, while Sammie Watkins and Percy Harvin are an injury concern from drive to drive. If this is a playoff team, even in a watered-down AFC, it’s going to take some substantial improvement.
	Cleveland Browns
So much for any quarterback controversy in Cleveland, huh? Josh McCown shredded a defense for the second straight week and one week after he should have led a game-winning drive he actually went ahead and did so with the Browns defense not able to undermine him this time. The calls for Johnny Manziel will further subside.
	Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys still have their share of issues with injuries and all, but man, that pass rush looked like a different animal on Sunday. If they can add Randy Gregory in the coming weeks and if they manage to win a game or two this month, well, they’ll still have a shot to be a factor in their division when Dez Bryant and Tony Romo return. Greg Hardy’s presence made an impact, however despicable his off-field actions may be.
	Denver Broncos
Yet another week where Peyton Manning looks pedestrian at best and the Broncos offense looks more like a collection of plays that occasionally pick up yards than it does a team with some balance and natural style of play. The fact they could muster nothing against a brutal Raiders defense should be telling, and each week new challenges await as Manning grows creakier and the weather starts to turn colder. If that defense slips even a bit -- DeMarcus Ware faded in the second half last year and was carted off with a back injury Sunday -- then this winning equation starts to suffer, perhaps greatly. They are undefeated in large part because of a run of defensive touchdowns, but those things tend to go in cycles.
	Detroit Lions
Last year feels like a million miles away for the Lions and Sunday’s destruction by the Cardinals just amplifies their heartbreaking defeat at Seattle last Monday night. This is a team that looks far adrift, to the point where ownership might have to mull over some drastic changes in a few months. Almost no one on the offense is showing anything close to the quality of play expected of them, and the reworked defensive line has been a total failure to this point. Benching Matt Stafford is possibly a sign of more desperate measures to come in other quarters of the organization.
	Jacksonville Jaguars
Speaking of lost seasons, patience has to be waning in Jacksonville. This defense is still a horror show more often than not -- 183 yards conceded to the Bucs on Sunday in allowing Jameis Winston to amass 38 points in the process -- and Blake Bortles continues to have his growth stunted without a solid cast around him. The Jags’ offensive line was overwhelmed by a bad Tampa Bay defense, and rookie T.J. Yeldon was held to 32 yards on 11 carries. Even four touchdowns by Bortles weren’t enough to get him his first road win. Should the Jags fail to beat the Texans or Bills before their bye you have to wonder if this staff stays intact during the off week with a 1-4 record and sad-sack minus-52 scoring differential.
	Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs might as well start looking at Chase Daniel soon. Blowing a 17-3 lead to the Bears at home, and losing Jamaal Charles for the season in the process, is someone telling you this is not your year. If that’s the case you might as well start to evaluate, and at some point you need to find a spark and see if you can run a big boy offense. Alex Smith going 16-for-30 with 6 yards per attempt and no passing plays over 30 yards again is getting this outfit nowhere.
	Philadelphia Eagles
I need to see the Eagles put together something close to a full game on offense against a team that can actually play some defense before I buy in that they have reversed course there. Running up the score on a day where Sean Payton looks like he’s ready to put Rob Ryan in a full nelson doesn’t count. The Saints on the road pretending to play defense isn’t the standard.
	St. Louis Rams
No quarterback looked more inept in Week 5 than Nick Foles, who single-handedly undermined any chance the Rams had of upsetting the Packers. St. Louis’ defense stymied the Packers and held them to 21 points and got the offense the ball in good scoring position off turnovers, but Foles looked woefully incapable to make a play, especially around the red zone, and so the superiority of the Rams’ running game and defense was all negated. Todd Gurley was a horse. St. Louis ran for nearly 200 yards and held the ball for nearly 34 minutes, but Foles -- and missed field goals -- killed them. One sequence captured their plight: A horrible Foles pick turned the game and then the Rams stopped Eddie Lacy on fourth-and-1 and then Foles promptly threw a pick-six to make it 14-0. Unreal. Then, in the fourth quarter, he managed to make even worse decisions and was picked off at the Green Bay 7 two times in a three-possession span. He completed 11 of 30 passes for 141 yards -- 68 of them came on a catch-and-run in garbage time -- and you just can’t help but think what this franchise might look like if it ever got anything close to NFL-caliber quarterback play.
	Washington Redskins
The Redskins have to fix their red-zone woes if they are to hang around the NFC East. Failure to score from close range off a late Falcons turnover doomed them and they have continued to bog down around that part of the field all season.