Bengals Lament 4th-and-2 Failure That Summed Up Their Offensive Struggles in Loss to Patriots

CINCINNATI – Officially, the count was two, but as Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor alluded to in his postgame news conference, the team essentially suffered three turnovers.

In addition to the two obvious lost fumbles by Tanner Hudson, there was the failed 4th-and-2 play for a turnover on downs that played a huge role in the team’s 16-10 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.

The 4th-and-2 failure came midway through the third quarter with the Bengals trailing 13-0 after Marcus Jones’ fumble recovery at the Cincinnati 24-yard line put the Patriots in chip-shot range for another field goal to add to their 10-0 halftime lead.

‘We’ve Got To Be Able To Get That’ — 4th-Down Stop Stymies Bengals

With the Bengals at the New England 36-yard line, Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow changed the play call at the line of scrimmage, checking into a wide receiver screen.

He threw the ball to Andrei Iosivas, who ran head-on into Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones for just a one-yard gain, ending the drive.

.@justjjones with the 🛑 STOP 🛑

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/O3QlhSs4zY

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 8, 2024

“I’m coming downhill. I just tried to run through his face,” Iosivas said Monday afternoon. “(Jones) made a good play there. But I’ve got to find a way to just get an extra yard there. Maybe just run through one of his shoulders instead of right through the middle of his face.”

It wasn’t just the 4th-and-2. The Bengals threw short of the yard to gain on multiple third-down plays as well where the receiver wasn’t able to break a tackle and get the first down.

But the fourth-down play was the one that stood out because the yardage to gain was so short, plus it was later in the game with the Bengals in New England territory down 13.

“We’ve got to be able to get that,” Taylor said. “There was good blocking on the perimeter. We’ve got to be able to get two yards in a critical moment in a 1-on-1.”

Twice last year the Bengals threw on 4th-and-2 or less, converting once — an 11-yard pass from Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase against Buffalo on 4th-and-1 — and failing on the other — a Jake Browning incompletion to Tee Higgins on a 4th-and-1 at Pittsburgh.

In 2022, the Bengals were 0-for-4 in those situations, a stark pivot from something they excelled at in 2021, going 5-for-6.

The Bengals have had notable struggles running the ball on 4th-and-short through the years, but they have converted on a much more frequent basis.

Since 2021, the Bengals have converted 11 of 16 times by running the ball on 4th-and-2 or less.

Through the first 15 games this season, there were 18 other situations of 4th-and-2 or less. Teams converted 14 of them for a 77.8% success rate, per TruMedia.

Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher didn’t say if the original play call was a run before Burrow changed it, but it wasn’t a wide receiver screen.

Nor did he say the play Burrow checked to was wrong.

“Sometimes the play that is called isn’t the play that ultimately gets executed,” he said. “We give Joe a toolbox to make adjustments as he sees fit, and those adjustments have garnered us tremendous victories and tremendous success over the course of his time here. That’s how we want to play. That’s how I believe the best teams play.

“He’s always going to have those tools available to him,” Pitcher continued. “In the moment, he makes a decision. I thought he made a decision that should have garnered a first down.”

After three consecutive three-and-outs to start the game, the Bengals put together a 13-play drive at the end of the first half that ended with Hudson’s fumble.

The drive that ended on the 4th-and-2 stop went for nine plays.

And the possession after that covered nine plays and ended in a touchdown.

While there wasn’t much offense to speak of for most of the game, the 4th-and-2 failure is the one play of the 48 the Bengals ran that stands apart.

“That’s a play we need to make,” Pitcher said. “Hopefully next time we will.”