Contrary to some conspiracy theories, Roger Goodell does not have a button below his Park Avenue desk that controls referee decisions and outcomes of games. But don’t try to convince Cincinnati and everyone else trying to determine exactly how to beat the Kansas City Chiefs after the Bengals’ 26-25 loss on Sunday.
While Ja’Marr Chase drew a costly unsportsmanlike-conduct flag – inducing a statement from the NFL Referee’s Association in defense of white hat Alex Kemp – the NFL said during the offseason that the hip-drop tackle would be difficult to flag, and the league would issue fines for the newly outlawed offense (CC: Joe Mixon and DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans).
But Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who contributed to a phenomenal defensive effort in a losing cause at Arrowhead Stadium, has a legitimate beef. Rookie left tackle Kingsley Suamataia put Hendrickson in a headlock late in the first half, with Kansas City facing third-and-19. Patrick Mahomes escaped the pocket and scrambled for 8 yards underneath Suamataia, who threw up his hands innocently. Officials missed the holding.
Cincinnati is now 0-6 in Week 2 games under head coach Zac Taylor. They’ve started 0-2 in five of his six seasons, all except 2021, when they won their opener. They advanced to the Super Bowl in 2021, their second season with Joe Burrow starting at quarterback, and earned a trip to the AFC Championship Game in 2022, but have missed the playoffs in each of the other seasons.
Since 1990, when the NFL expanded the playoffs by two teams, only 11. 5 percent of clubs who’ve started 0-2 have made the postseason (32 of 279).
The Bengals host Washington (1-1) this week in the second half of a Monday Night Football doubleheader (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC).