Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki quoted fellow New Jerseyite Bill Parcells Monday as they began a work week that stretches into Sunday night (8:20-Cincinnati's Channel 5) against the Chargers in their first trip to SoFi Stadium since Super Bowl LVI.
"The old saying by a great coach is you are what your record says you are," Gesicki said of 4-6. "That's what we are. But there are positive things to take from it."
The main positive is that 4-6 in this season isn't a disqualifier in the stubbornly wide-open AFC playoff chase. The Bengals hold the ninth seed after a weekend they enjoyed a "mini-bye," following Thursday night's Midnight Madness in Baltimore.
The seventh and last slot is held by a 5-5 Denver team that visits Paycor Stadium next month. The team behind the Broncos, the 4-6 Colts, are in a quarterback quandary and have longer odds to make the postseason than the Bengals.
Cincy's probabilities kicked up to 28% after the Broncos found their own last-play misfortune at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday when the Chiefs blocked the winning field goal on the same field Kanas City beat the Bengals on the last play with a field goal in the season's second week.
"Unfortunately, we're three plays away from having a completely different record," said Gesicki, adding what amounted to the two walk-off losses to the Ravens. "I've been saying since week one and now here we are 10 weeks into it. We still have everything in front of us and it's a great opportunity this week."
The 6-3 Chargers, currently the sixth seed, are no day at the beach under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh as he plays the same kind of stout, stingy game he featured coaching at Michigan and from 2011-14 in the NFL with the 49ers.
Purely complementary. His offense may be ranked in the 20s despite the brilliance of quarterback Justin Herbert, but the Chargers defense is quite a challenge for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s league-leading passing yards and touchdown passes. Los Angeles is allowing the NFL's fewest points and fourth-fewest net yards per pass.
"Four teams in it right there. Us. The Chargers, Colts, Chargers," said left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., trying like mad to get back into the lineup after missing the past two games with knee and leg issues. "It helps (they play the Chargers and Broncos), but we have to control what we can control. There's a lot of benefit that comes with that, but we can't look too far ahead."
Brown and Gesicki weren't on that Super team that we went to SoFi. But slot cornerback Mike Hilton was, and he's saying the same thing they are. Although, Hilton does admit there are similarities to this November and this week in the Super November of '21, when the 5-4 Bengals came out of their regular bye, went west, and beat the 5-4 Raiders on the way to ignite a 5-2 splurge that cliched the playoffs.
"It's the middle of November, teams are starting to separate themselves and just to see we're still in the fight at 4-6, that's definitely a big confident booster," Hilton said. "That's too far ahead. Our main goal is to do our job and beat the Chargers on Sunday. We know they're a good team and where they are in the standings and that would be a big win for us."
If any of his players out there don't know the standings, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor makes sure they know the urgency is there.
"It's probably a similar situation," said Taylor of 2021. "At this point in the year, making a West Coast trip against a team that's playing good football right now, so it's a good test for us.
"It's just kind of a one-game stand right now."
Everyone has been waiting for this team to put together some kind of streak like they have the last three seasons. In '21, it was that five out of seven run into the season finale they made moot. In '22, it was 10 straight before losing the AFC title game. Last year it was five out of seven before Burrow's injury.
"It will come when it comes," Hilton said. "We've been here before. We know how to dig ourselves out. We just have to find ways to close games out."
Gesicki gladly ticked off the positives heading to SoFi this time:
"There's a long list that gives you hope. The coaching staff here is incredible from the top down. They do a great job. Our quarterback is elite. One of one. I've been saying that. He's unbelievable. The supporting cast and everybody else have been doing their job. Ja’Marr (Chase) is crazy. That guy makes a lot of plays. Getting the ball and opening things up for other guys.
"The defense played incredible at the start of the (last) game. That's a really good offense and to hold them to seven points through two quarters … there's some positives."
The numbers say something should pop. Among the Bengals quarterbacks who threw for at least 20 touchdowns in the first 10 games, Andy Dalton in 2015 and Boomer Esiason in 1988, went 8-2 and Carson Palmer went 7-3 in 2005.
Even in the years Burrow did it with 22 in '22 and 21 in '21, the Bengals went 6-4 both seasons.
INJURY UPDATE
All eyes on Orlando Brown Jr., and wide receiver Tee Higgins (quad), who has missed the last three games. Taylor said they were both in Monday's walkthrough but he's not putting anything in stone.
"Walkthrough is pretty easy to participate in, so I wouldn't read too much into that. We'll get to Wednesday and see where it's at," Taylor said. "Everything was positive."
LOU LOOK
Last week was the week that was as defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo looked to young up the secondary. Sophomore Jordan Battle pretty much split reps with veteran safety Vonn Bell in both the Raiders and Ravens games, and rookie cornerback Josh Newton took some of the load off Hilton with a career-high 13 and 19 snaps, respectively.
Hilton continues to be their surest tackler in the secondary. Note Thursday night's tackle on the last play of the first half that kept the clock going and prevented a Baltimore field-goal attempt.
Hilton was their No. 1 run defender against the Ravens and Battle their fifth, according to Pro Football Focus, to lead the secondary that helped hold NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry to 68 yards on 16 carries. They have just six missed tackles in the last two games, PFF says, and Hilton and Battle haven't had any.
"I think Jordan's doing well. His snaps again are up in the 30s and continues to improve," Anarumo said. "Young legs, and he's tough, you saw him. You saw him get after. I thought we got after Henry pretty good in terms of tackling. He's a physical tackler. He's a bigger guy. He's starting to understand all of the jobs that we're asking him to do. So just keep increasing his reps as we go forward."
Anarumo says Newton, the fifth-rounder from TCU, is going to get a similar workload in L.A.
"He's making strides like any rookie corner. We put him in a little bit the other day. It's only going to help down the road," Anarumo said. "Love his approach, love his mentality, love his toughness. He's one of those guys that will give everything he's got so I'm happy with where he's at."
But there's no question Anarumo is looking for a more static secondary no matter the age.
"I think, ultimately, you'd like to just see somebody settle in and say, 'This is mine,'" Anarumo said. "But again, I'll say the word. It gets boring, but it's just consistent. I just want to see consistency, play in, play out. And until we get that, we'll continue to rotate."
ANOTHER JOE
And that's what Anarumo says he's getting from backup edge Joseph Ossai. While Ossai has played 27 snaps the last two games, the other backup edge, Myles Murphy, dropped to 20 and then 14 Thursday night. Ossai had three tackles in Baltimore to go along with the one hit they had on Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
"Joseph Ossai, he's out there running around tackling his own guys sometimes, but he's running around," Anarumo said. "He is giving us great effort, he is giving us physical play in the run game. The guy kind of stepped his game up in my opinion on what we are asking him to do. No knock on Myles. Still 'arrow up,' but I like what Joe is doing."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
The Bengals reportedly had former Pro Bowl Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard in for a visit Monday, but reports said he turned down an offer. Howard is a long-time favorite of Anarumo, his secondary coach in Miami. He hasn't played since he injured his foot last season …
They reportedly also hosted running back Leonard Fournette, the fourth pick in the 2017 draft. Fournette, 29, hasn't played this season …
The Bengals were looking to add to the practice squad and did when they signed running back Gary Brightwell, a fourth-year player out of the University of Arizona. He was a sixth-round draft pick of the Giants in 2021 and spent time on the Browns practice squad this year ...
