But good teams don’t have special teams blunders this late in the season and the interception return came on a drive where Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer could have driven the Bengals to the game-winning score.
As for the season-ending loss at Kansas City, some people may discount that as a flat performance where the Bengals rested their regulars. But there’s a big difference between resting people and not competing.
By contrast, New England pulled Tom Brady after one quarter and rested many other players such as Asante Samuel, Tedy Bruschi and Corey Dillon. Yet the Patriots still took the Dolphins to the end of the game, losing 28-26 with rookie Matt Cassel at quarterback to rally them.
