The Bengals were destroyed by the Chiefs on Sunday night, but quarterback Andy Dalton says his team needs to be careful not to overreact.
Dalton noted that the 45-10 loss counts the same in the standings as any other loss, and he thinks the Bengals remain well-positioned in the AFC North.
“It’s just one game. We’ve got another one next week,” Dalton said. “As much as this one sucks, like I said, everything’s still right there. We’re in a great position. We’ve got to go take advantage of it.”
It is, indeed, just one game. And if the playoffs started today, the 4-3 Bengals would be in, as a wild card team, with tiebreaker edges over the 4-3 Ravens and Dolphins.
But if the Bengals want to think of themselves as contenders, they need to be competitive with good teams. And the Bengals showed last night that they’re a long way behind the best team in the AFC.