The last time we saw this collective Bengals offense, it was an encouraging Week 3 preseason performance where the combination of Andy Dalton, Joe Mixon, John Ross and A.J. Green looked like they might be able to produce something special in Cincinnati.
The headline was quarterback Andy Dalton's four picks, something both Dalton and Lewis tried to explain away in the post-game.
Lewis, via the team's official site: "Two were off tipped balls, and on the other one (Brandon) LaFell gets grabbed, even though I don't know if that has an effect on the play. Brandon got tackled when he made the break on the play. Those things, and the tipped balls, didn't bounce our way. Sometimes they bounce our way, and sometimes they don't. Theirs happened to bounce right to them."
Dalton, via ESPN.com: "I didn't give us a chance to win this game," Dalton said. "I didn't give us a chance to score the points we needed to win. It starts with me."
Dalton was the closer of the two. While there were tipped balls leading to two of the picks, only one of those -- the second-quarter pick that was swatted by Terrell Suggs at the line and knocked far into the air -- was of the freak play variety. Three of those passes were, to me, ill advised. The frustration from everyone was evident Sunday, with Green swatting the turf after the final of Dalton's four picks.
While this might be a case of first-game jitters, and some receivers could emerge to shoulder some of the blame (perhaps someone was in the wrong place at the wrong time), this was the worst-case scenario for a Bengals team already reeling from a letdown season last year. A Week 1 loss is something a team can easily rebound from. A 20-0 loss where a quarterback hurls four picks is something different.
