Who dey say dey gon’ beat dem Bengals?

Who dey say dey gon’ beat dem Bengals?

Well, uh, let’s see … Beginning Oct. 1, 2006, New England, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Baltimore, San Diego, Indianapolis, Denver, Pittsburgh.

So far, this year, Cleveland, Seattle, New England, Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Since Oct. 1, 2006, the Cincinnati Bengals are 7-13.

Stick a fork in dem Bengals. The Bengals stink. Out loud.

The unhappy, dissolute, dissension-ridden band of malcontents, miscreants and recreants lack character, leadership and wintuitiveness, if that’s even word. Well, it is now, and the Steelers have it. The Bengals don’t.

Each team had only seven possessions throughout the game. In four trips to the red zone, the Bengals came away with only one touchdown. They settled. That’s all. They settled.

While the Steelers were scoring touchdowns, the Bengals were kicking field goals. And getting booed by their own fans in their own stadium, on a day when they had a record turnout.

The Bengals played not to lose. And that’s what losers do.

Let the second-guessing begin.

Cincinnati Post columnist Lonnie Wheeler:

“It's one thing to go down kicking and screaming. It's another to just go down kicking. A field goal, that is. On fourth-and-1. At the Pittsburgh 2-yard line. Late in the second quarter. Already down 14-3. There are, of course, reasonable explanations for head coach Marvin Lewis' decision. He considered it all considerably. First, he sent out the field-goal team. Then he called timeout to think about it. The assumption was that he had changed his mind. The assumption was wrong. Lewis was also wrong, in retrospect, and he admitted as much afterward.

“In hindsight,” Lewis said, “I guess we should probably go for it on fourth down there rather than take the points. But I don't anticipate that they're going to take the ball and drive it down and get a touchdown before halftime.”

Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh:

“Lack of confidence? It could possibly be that because, on fourth-and-one, why wouldn’t you go for it? He’s probably figuring, ‘Let’s get points on the board.’ But I don’t know. You guys can ask coach Lewis about that. It’s his decision. He’s the head coach.”

"We're 2-5, they're 5-2," said Houshmandezadeh. "Good teams get in the end zone, and teams like us kick field goals."

Losers.