The Cincinnati Bengals almost won the Week 9 game. Head coach Zac Taylor saw the victory coming, but it slipped through their fingers and went to the Chicago Bears. The Bears scored a touchdown in the final minute of the game and won by 47-42. The coach couldn’t swallow it.

“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. It (the game) was right there, and then we couldn’t find a way to get it done. We just gotta make one play. Just one play,” the coach said.

The Bengals’ defense fell apart again. They missed 15 tackles against the Bears, which gave up 133 extra yards. One of those mistakes came on TE Colston Loveland’s game-winning 58-yard touchdown, where 35 of those yards came after contact. The Bengals came into this game already leading the league with 94 missed tackles for 645 yards, and those numbers only got worse.

This loss also put the Bengals in rare company. Only two teams in NFL history have lost back-to-back games while scoring at least 38 points. Before them, the 1966 New York Giants had also been through the same pain.

The real problem for Cincinnati is its defense. The Bengals have allowed 117 points in the second halves of their last five games, easily the most in the league. The next worst team, the New York Giants, has given up 77. Including this game, the Bengals’ defense in 2025 ranks as one of the worst in the past 25 years. They are the worst in EPA per play allowed (29th), opponent rushing yards per game, yards per carry, total yards per game, and worst in yards per play.

So, the sense of disappointment wasn’t limited to the head coach. The close defeat also hurt even the veteran QB Joe Flacco.

Zac Taylor’s QB is also heartbroken over the loss

Bengals 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 470 yards and 4 touchdowns, the most passing yards by any player this NFL season. He did it while playing through an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder. Head coach Zac Taylor said Flacco could barely lift his arm earlier in the week, but he still fought through the pain and delivered an incredible performance. But even Flacco wasn’t happy.

“If you don’t put your head down and go to work, it’s going to be a long season. Continue to take pride in doing what you do, “he said in his emotional message to the locker room.

These aren’t just words. He has been doing it. Joe Flacco’s 470 passing yards put him in elite company, too. Only two quarterbacks have ever thrown for 450 or more yards against the Bears. LA Rams QB Vince Ferragamo had 509 yards in 1982, and now Joe Flacco. Over his last five quarters against the Bears, Flacco has passed for a total of 682 yards, as per reporter Brad Biggs. That’s mammoth!

However, the question is what they’re going to do now. With a 3-6 record after 9 weeks, they still have a shot at the playoffs. But realistically, it’s almost impossible now. It would be their 3rd season in a row without going into the postseason. Will he retain his position then or have to search for a job elsewhere? There are too many questions that will find their answers as we move towards the season end.