CINCNNATI -- Just like that, everything came to a screeching halt for the Cincinnati Bengals.
The momentum stopped, the streak was snapped.
And it was all because of a simple botched fake handoff on a read-option that resulted in a lost fumble. Eventually three more touchdowns were scored that didn't go on Cincinnati's side of the scoreboard. Adding insult to injury, the turnover came using the exact move the Bengals had employed two quarters prior when their quarterback galloped into wide-open space around the right edge, untouched for an easy 20-yard score.
Take the lone miscue away, and quarterback Andy Dalton actually had a good day.
But on this particular Sunday afternoon, with so much riding on an important AFC North showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers, good wasn't good enough.
He needed to be perfect.
Crazy how football works, right? Last week, the sickly signal-caller who was operating on three pregame IV bags threw a trio of interceptions -- all before halftime -- yet still was able to play well enough in the second half to lead his team to a 14-13 win on the road for a third-straight victory.
This week, he goes 21-for-29 for 302 yards with two passing touchdowns and a rushing score and he loses ... by 21.
As near-flawless a day as Dalton had, he needed to get at least one more play to go his way. A late turnover on the short side of the field that killed momentum and stopped rhythm.
"You can't have that at that point in the game," Dalton said of the fumble that came with the Bengals leading 21-20 with 13 minutes remaining in the game. "We just needed to put a drive together. We were close, we didn't."
Four plays after the lost fumble, the Steelers scored and got a two-point conversion to take a 28-21 lead that went unanswered through the 42-21 final. It was the second time in as many home games the Bengals lost by 21, a feat that hadn't previously happened since 2002.
So why did the fumble happen? Didn't Dalton and Jeremy Hill know the quarterback was going to keep the football?
It depends which one you ask.
An hour after the game, Dalton repeatedly said Hill thought he was getting handed the ball for a running play. Separately, Hill said it was clear to him that Dalton was trying to take the ball back to keep it to either run with himself, or to pitch to Giovani Bernard. Confusing, right?
Hill sounds more believable.
"I guess my pocket wasn't loose enough for him to keep it," Hill said, showing the narrow space from his simulated handoff. "I assumed he would pull it just from the look before the play even started. They didn't have anyone on the perimeter.
"I knew he was going to keep it."
Regardless whose fault the fumble was, it happened, and served as a good reminder for Dalton that no matter how well he plays individually, he has to strive for more perfect play.
This time of year, there just isn't any other choice.
