Del Duduit

CINCINNATI – Orange is supposed to be a fun color.

The bright shade can have both a positive and negative connotation, depending on the person.

On the plus side, people associate orange with confidence, optimism, enthusiasm and boldness.

On the negative side, orange can elicit feelings of arrogance, pride and impatience.

On Sunday for the 2024 home opener of the Cincinnati Bengals — in The Jungle at Paycor Stadium — orange meant disappointment, ugly, unmotivated and sloppy.

The Bengals debuted their orange pants with black stripes for the first time in the history of the franchise — in combination with orange jerseys against the New England Patriots.

The result was a 16-10 loss to a team they should have beaten.

But, this is nothing new to the Bengals the past few seasons — in the first few weeks of the season.

In the past five years, in the first two games of each season, Cincinnati is a dismal 1-9.

Now make it 1-10.

The slow starts put the team on the defensive and in the hole right out of the gate.

They are forced to play catch up — and that’s never easy.

Even though this was the first game of the 2024 season, it was considered a “must win”, because this week the Orange and Black travel to Kansas City to take on the back-to-back defending league champion Chiefs, which knocked off Baltimore in Week 1 in a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game.

The odds of Cincinnati starting ANOTHER season 0-2 is pretty good right now.

On Sunday, New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 120 yards and a first-quarter touchdown, while Joey Slye added three field goals to boost the Patriots to the win.

In the first half, the Bengals’ offense was non-existent.

Cincinnati went three-and-out on its first three drives.

This was a shock, because all the hype in the offseason was that the high-powered offense was back.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow moved the Bengals (0-1) into the red zone in the second quarter, but came away with zilch.

“We’ll have to watch the tape,” Burrow said. “I really don’t have an answer for you right now. I’ll have a better answer on Wednesday.”

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at Sunday’s press conference following the Bengals’ 16-10 loss to the New England Patriots.

Courtesy of Del Duduit

In the second half, Bengals punt returner Charlie Jones botched a punt that led to a Patriots field goal.

On the next possession, the Bengals turned the ball over on downs.

On the day, Cincinnati turned the ball over three times.

In the press conference, both Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and Burrow had reoccurring sentences.

“We will just have to watch the tape and see what happened,” they both repeated, over and over.

They didn’t have much to say — because there wasn’t much to say.

Burrow was 21 of 29 with 164 yards, while Ja’Marr Chase hauled in six catches for 62 yards.

The Patriots took away the deep threat of Burrow to Chase throughout the game.

“They were taking it away,” Burrow said. “(New England) did a good job. They had a good plan. I was just taking what they gave me. We will watch the tape and see if we had some other opportunities to get the ball down the field and figure it out.”

But why does it take the Bengals more than two games each season to figure it out?

Burrow just admitted that New England had a plan. W

hat was Cincinnati’s plan?

Just to take what the Patriots gave them?

C’mon man.

On the other hand, Jacoby Brissett threw for 121 yards and completed 15 of 24 passes in the win for New England (1-0.)

But the story for the Patriots was it churned out 170 yards on the ground.

“We missed a lot of tackles today and gave up a lot of yards rushing,” Taylor said. “We have to be accountable for that and make some corrections and get ready for next week.”

New England’s defense controlled the line of scrimmage and forced Burrow to scramble throughout the game.

Cincinnati running back Zack Moss was limited to 44 yards on the ground on nine carries, while Burrow chipped in with 15 yards rushing on four tries.

“We got off to a slow start and someone needed to pick it up,” Moss said. “When my number is called, I try to make a few plays. It was frustrating to some degree when you’re not executing. It’s happened already and now we move on and come back in and get ready for next Sunday.”

The offense did not produce.

But neither did the defense.

And neither did special teams.

In all facets of the game, Cincinnati did not show up and was not prepared — AGAIN.

“We knew (New England) was going to come in and run the football,” Cincinnati safety Mike Hilton said. “That’s what they are known for. They did it all day. They kept our offense off the field. We didn’t tackle well. We can’t turn the ball over against (Patrick) Mahomes next week. We have to get their guys on the ground — that’s it.”

The Bengals have started each season slow the past five years.

How can they avoid from going another season 0-2?

“We’re pros,” Chase snapped. “We have to forget about it and move on to the next week.”

Forget about it is right.

It was forgettable for sure.

And while you’re at it, wear a different color uniform in Kansas City.

Burn the all-orange outfit.

Forget about it.

Who Dey?