Sitting at 0-8, the Cincinnati Bengals believe the bye week was beneficial
The bye week came at the halfway point of the season for the Bengals. Will the team have better luck in the final eight games?
Sitting at 0-8, the Cincinnati Bengals believe the bye week was beneficial The bye week came at the halfway point of the season for the Bengals. Will the team have better luck in the final eight games? Check out this story on cincinnati.com: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2019/11/05/bengals-say-bye-week-gives-team-fresh-start/4165648002/
Tyler Dragon, Cincinnati Enquirer Published 3:29 p.m. ET Nov. 5, 2019 | Updated 10:10 a.m. ET Nov. 6, 2019
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap (96) and Cincinnati Bengals outside linebacker Nick Vigil (59) are unable to secure an interception in the third quarter of a Week 8 NFL game,Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The Los Angeles Rams won 24-10. (Photo: Kareem Elgazzar)
When the Cincinnati Bengals emerged from the bye week they found themselves as the only team in the NFL with a goose egg in the win column.
Despite being at the bottom of the standings, the Bengals are hopeful the bye week served as a remedy for a losing streak that dates back to Dec. 23, 2018.
The team's adopted a mindset that it's a new season and they are committed to focusing on one game at a time for the remaining two months of the regular season.
"I think the bye week is what everybody needed. Now we can kind of come back and regroup, look at all the old things, critique those plays and see what we should've done or could've done to win the game," Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd told The Enquirer.
For the optimist, the bye week benefited the Bengals in two ways: it gave the team a psychological break from negativity and at the same it allowed players the opportunity to get healthy.
"I think the time off to get healthy is going to have a positive impact on us going forward. But that's still not for certain that's going to be the answer for us winning games," Bengals safety Shawn Williams told The Enquirer. "We just have to come out and play football and do what we do. The bye week gave us a little bit more time to fix what we can fix."
Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (knee) and guard Alex Redmond (ankle) were the only players on the active roster who didn't participate at Monday's practice. Wide receiver A.J. Green, guard John Miller, cornerback Darqueze Dennard, left tackle Andre Smith and defensive end Carl Lawson were all working out at Monday's session.
None of the above played in London. The expectation is to have all of them back at some point during the final eight games of the season. Everyone in the locker room is eagerly anticipating playing at full strength, something that has yet to take place in 2019.
"There is a little bit of a renewed energy because we are getting guys back and we are all a little bit healthier," Williams said.
The NFL schedulers threw the Bengals a bone by placing the bye week at the midway point of the season, so the Bengals have fittingly split the season in two parts. Even at 0-8, the Bengals feel rejuvenated and are ready to move forward with one practice and game at a time. The bye week presented the Bengals a chance to self-critique and look in the mirror.
"Yeah, the bye week is kind of the point where you do a lot of self-scout. But this one especially because it's exactly the middle of the season," Bengals center Trey Hopkins said. "There are exactly eight games left and it is a new start with a change at the quarterback position. It's gonna be different. It really is like turning the page for us."
Now the question is if Cincinnati will win at least one of the next eight games?
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