2-1: Great win! Now, cooler heads must prevail

[PhilipNelsonFan]

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/nfl/boxsco ... =290927004

I thought this game was over at 10-0. I kept thinking, Here we go again, same old Bengals, no chance against Pittsburgh. I've been on the road since 3 p.m. (PST) and I had no confidence in this team.

Well, f**k me running.

Cincy was outgained by 100 yards. Carson's QB rating was 79.7. This is absolutely the type of game the Bengals habitually lose, and they came away with the win. That spells growth. That spells maturity. Suddenly, the decision to keep Brian Leonard looks a lot better after he hauls in the play of the game. As Mike Zimmer said during Hard Knocks, "We're the little sisters of the poor. Nobody wanted us." And the little sisters of the poor just beat the Steelers.

The first thought should be, "Wait, if Leon Hall just bats the ball down against the Broncos, the Bengals are 3-0!!" Exactly. And the division race opens up dramatically. But hold that thought, because the Ravens are as scary as the Steelers were entering this game, if not more so. The Bengals still have a pathetic running game and a questionable offensive line. The defense, for all intents and purposes, has shown up this season--defensive touchdowns never hurt.

Where do you go from here? Certainly, you play more freely and loosely--this is largely unexplored territory for this team. But suddenly you look at the schedule: @CLE, @BAL, HOU, CHI. No reason to think the Bengals can't go 3-1 in that stretch. That'd set them up at 5-2 entering their bye week.and I can point out five more wins on the schedule to get to 10-6.

No one believes in the Bengals, so the Bengals have to keep gunning. The offense is still the weak link of this team, but they got just enough of it tonight.