After the Bengals beat the Seahawks on Sunday, some of their players talked about the “statement” they made by coming back from 17 down to move to 5-0 on the season.
On Monday, attention shifted away from pats on the back to the tasks that still lie ahead for the Bengals this season. Linebacker A.J. Hawk acknowledged that he was dealing in cliches when he said that “we’re on to the next one,” but said it was the mindset that the team had to have with so much of the season left to play.
Defensive end Carlos Dunlap agreed and pointed out that the Bengals are going to be judged on how they finish the season and not on their record after five weeks of the regular season.
“We’ve got to win our next football game,” Dunlap said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I don’t care what our record is right now. We’ve got another opponent coming up and they’re just as important. No matter where we are right now, if we don’t finish, the start won’t be remembered. We’ll be remembered [by] how we wouldn’t finish.”
No one in Cincinnati needs to be reminded of the team’s run of one-and-done playoff appearances. While they won’t get a chance to change their fortunes without a strong regular season, January will be the only judge of their ultimate success this season.
