Pick on Carson Palmer’s throw or Terrell Owens’ penalty. Complain that the Bengals offense looks as disjointed in Week Five as it did in Week One. Criticize the Bengals defense for allowing Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman to complete 5-of-6 passes for 71 yards in his final two drives.
But blaming the Bengals loss on Sunday on Marvin Lewis because the Bengals threw the ball on third-and-13 leading by 7 points with 2:28 remaining is insane.
“I wanted to be aggressive. I put us in that situation, but I think we’ve got to play football that way. You can’t play scared,” Lewis said after the game.
We completely agree. If Palmer can’t be trusted to not throw an interception there, then the Bengals should cut him. He’s making $10.5 million this year. As Herm Edwards would say, you play to win the game. That means throwing the ball on third-and-13 when a conversion sets you up for a game-winning first down. It’s on Palmer, not a playcall.
Palmer needs to make better decisions and improve his accuracy. He needs to play like a veteran. Lewis needs to rally his team after a devastating loss. Lewis doesn’t need to change his approach, or he may as well give up on this season.