CINCINNATI -- It doesn't need to be stated how important this next game is for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and they'll be 5-3 and in good position in the AFC North before they head into their bye week. Lose, and they'll be 4-4 and playing catch-up with the New Orleans Saints' high-powered offense coming to town to start the second half of the season.
"We've got a bye coming up, and we want to set ourselves up. We still have the ability to attain everything we want to attain in our division and moving forward," tight end C.J. Uzomah said. "We're not even halfway through the year yet. ... This is, for me, a very big game, and a staple game for us to assert ourselves and to get back on track, and to show that ... the last two games were a blip and we're going to get back to where we need to be."
When a team is humiliated like the Bengals were in a 45-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, one of two things will happen. The team either will rally and use the loss as a turning point, or the players will turn on each other and more losses will follow.
One of the ways they're tackling this issue is to point out the positive things after two successive losses.
“The first thing we need to realize is that it’s not like we haven’t won a game," quarterback Andy Dalton said. "The initial feeling can be, ‘Man, things aren’t going well.’ But we’re still in a good spot, and there’s still a lot of season left. Everybody understands where we’re at, and it’s just about getting on track this week.”
The Bengals have been blunt about their problems. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor showed his unit statistics on how they've declined weekly after a hot start. The issue of poor tackling against the Chiefs has no doubt been addressed. But perhaps one of the more important things that occurred this week happened on Monday.
Players on both sides of the ball stood up and addressed the team in their Monday meeting. Players haven't divulged the details of what exactly was said or who said it, but the implication was clear: The team has to stick together, not come apart.
"We have to really dig deep, and we have to come together," Uzomah said.
It's not unusual for certain players to address the team, but it's certainly not a daily occurrence. Sometimes it happens when the team is on a roll and needs a reality check. The Bengals' reality check already was delivered by the Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers long before anyone stood up and said anything.
"Obviously, it's not a daily occurrence or a weekly occurrence. But it is something that, every now and then, you need to hear as a team," Uzomah said.
He added: "I think that's good for the team to hear from the leaders and hear how we're going to approach this week and ultimately how that's going to lead to the success of our season," Uzomah said. "I mean, we played abysmally in all three phases. ... That's gone. ... It's on to the next week. That's how we're going to approach this game."
Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick was at a doctor's appointment when the meeting occurred, but the team made sure he got the message as well.
"It's great. It's a positive sign, a sign that guys want to get things fixed around here," Kirkpatrick said. "It ain't broke, but there's a couple of cracks. We've got to fill in the cracks. To me, that was good for the team, good for us. But we've got to respond to it."
Perhaps the hangover of the loss to the Steelers lingered on to Sunday's game, just like it did when the Bengals were blown out by the Bears last year after losing to Pittsburgh. For some reason, that spark wasn't there, according to Kirkpatrick.
"Just got to have that fire. We just didn't play with enough fire, and when you don't play with no fire, you can be relaxed on a lot of things, a lot of plays. We've just got to figure it out," Kirkpatrick said.
As for how to get it back, Kirkpatrick said the scoreboard said plenty.
"I feel nobody's got to say nothing to us. We know we lost. We know what the score was. It was an embarrassment. We already know that," he said.