The Bengals have lost five of their last six games and they’re coming off a lopsided loss to the Browns that appeared to feature some players giving less than full effort as the clock ran out.
Running back Joe Mixon pushed back against anyone who might be inclined to start slowing things down because of the negative trajectory that the season has taken in Cincinnati. Mixon said Thursday that his teammates need to give everything they have for every minute of the game “or you might as well stay in the locker room.”
“You’re going to know who is going to let up and [who will] go play 100 percent,” Mixon said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. “You’re going to know who’s shutting it down. At the end of the day, it’s how bad do you want it? Either go out and give it 100 or stay home. Don’t show up.”
The Bengals host the Broncos on Sunday in a game between 5-6 teams that will leave the loser with really long playoff odds. If that’s not enough to spur full effort from the Bengals, it’s hard to imagine anything that could raise the effort level to the place it needs to be.