44 minutes ago, Bluegrasscard said:

He got the ring but could have been MVP if he plays second half. 

I think him being out was a big part of why LA struggled to move the ball in the second half. 

Didn't really have a strong rooting interest one way or the other. The game was competitive, but honestly didn't think it was that well played of a game. I wasn't watching the game thinking these are the best two teams in football. But they did what they had to do and took advantage of the opportunities that got them there. I loved how the Rams said "Kupp is our best player and if we are going down, it will be with the ball in his hands." I got to watch Kupp in college a few times since I follow FCS football. Dude was a beast at Eastern Washington and has continued on beasting in the NFL.

I know many feel the Bengals are set up for the foreseeable future - and I would feel the same if I was a fan - but if the NFL has shown us anything, it is that it is a tough climb just to make a Super Bowl. Brady is the exception, not the rule. Ask Aaron Rodgers, Dan Marino, etc. Most "great" QBs make it to the big game a 2-3 times, maybe?

5 minutes ago, bugatti said:

I know many feel the Bengals are set up for the foreseeable future - and I would feel the same if I was a fan - but if the NFL has shown us anything, it is that it is a tough climb just to make a Super Bowl. Brady is the exception, not the rule. Ask Aaron Rodgers, Dan Marino, etc. Most "great" QBs make it to the big game a 2-3 times, maybe?

The AFC is absolutely loaded right now, too. That doesn't help their case for getting back. 

My guess is that there will be several veteran offensive linemen wanting to talk to the Bengals. I would sign a center or guard and definitely a tackle. They could bolster in the draft but they will be a late 1st round pick and the 1st round high caliber guys will be gone.

11 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Healthy Rams receiving corps with Kupp, OBJ, Robert Woods, Van Jefferson and Tyler Higbee could be trouble next year. Rams HAVE to run the ball though better than they have for the last month.

They don’t need to run it better they need to just stop trying to run the ball nearly as much, it’s so obvious how hard they want to run the ball on first and second down even when the defense dictated they couldn’t. 

It blows my mind that there are still people scattered around on social media that truly think the pick should have been Sewell over Chase. Without Chase the Bengals are watching yesterday from home. Honestly, their biggest weakness has been the interior offensive line, so they may have been watching the Wild Card game at home too... not to mention I'm convinced drafting Chase goes a long way toward keeping Burrow long term. Those two have a very special bond. 

Wow, you have to love the Monday morning coaches and officials. LOL

Did not see this camera shot by NBC during the game. This shot from above was on the last 4th and 1 to basically end the game. 
 

4 hours ago, Footballfan5 said:

Great season.  This team seems like they have great chemistry and character.  

I question some playcalling.  How do you slow down a pass rush?  Not one quick WR screen or RB screen called the entire game (unless I was in the bathroom).  Defense played extremely well. Run defense was fantastic.  Zac seemed to be pass-happy the whole game.

Agreed on questioning some play calling, that has always been my biggest issue with Taylor. Agreed on should have tried a screen or two. Disagree on Taylor being pass happy. What is the one thing us fans have said all year, put the ball in Burrows hands. If they lose the game and had ran the ball ten more times and passed ten less times. People would be complaining about how he didn’t put the ball in Burrows hands.  It honestly should have been one less run, because running the ball on 3rd and one right to Donald was just plain dumb. 

Just now, futurecoach said:

Agreed on questioning some play calling, that has always been my biggest issue with Taylor. Agreed on should have tried a screen or two. Disagree on Taylor being pass happy. What is the one thing us fans have said all year, put the ball in Burrows hands. If they lose the game and had ran the ball ten more times and passed ten less times. People would be complaining about how he didn’t put the ball in Burrows hands.  It honestly should have been one less run, because running the ball on 3rd and one right to Donald was just plain dumb. 

With that said even though I have never been a big fan of Taylor the play caller. I do think it would be fair to at least see how Taylor is as a play caller with an even decent line. So far in this three years calling plays here, he arguably has had to scheme and call plays behind the worst line in the NFL. 

4 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

I think (OBJ) being out was a big part of why LA struggled to move the ball in the second half. 

Perhaps. But he only caught 2 passes in the game. 

It is much more likely LA struggled in the second half because the Bengals defense was the best 3rd quarter defense in the NFL and the 3rd best second half defense in the NFL.

3 hours ago, KY Outsider said:

My guess is that there will be several veteran offensive linemen wanting to talk to the Bengals. I would sign a center or guard and definitely a tackle. They could bolster in the draft but they will be a late 1st round pick and the 1st round high caliber guys will be gone.

 The Bengals need to take a page out of the Rams book.  Use draft picks to trade for proven quality offensive lineman. The odds of getting a rookie offensive lineman to make a difference next year are very high from where the Bengals are drafting.

1 hour ago, Voice of Reason said:

Perhaps. But he only caught 2 passes in the game. 

It is much more likely LA struggled in the second half because the Bengals defense was the best 3rd quarter defense in the NFL and the 3rd best second half defense in the NFL.

How many catches he had doesn't really tell the story at all. The Rams literally had one starting receiver in the game after he went down. Even if OBJ never made another catch in the game, it's much easier to cover Kupp alone without having to worry about OBJ also. 

Eli Apple gave up 2 touchdowns (1 nullified by penalty) and had a pass interference in the last 4 plays of the Rams winning drive.

Pretty poor performance for a guy that ran his mouth all week.

Anyone see how open Chase was on that last play? If only Burrow had another second or two. But thats a lot to ask for when you have a lineman graded 2.4 by PFF.

Helluva run. They will definitely be competitive again next year but the AFC is a dsmn gauntlet.