[Van Hagar]

I’ve actually been a Bengals fan my whole life, which meant a lot of lean years. I hate how this game went yesterday. I almost never say anything about officiating, I’ve done it myself, and it’s a tough, tough job at any level. But having said that—I thought the officials were atrocious last night. Now the call at the end was correct, don’t get me wrong, I was screaming at the tv while Mahomes was running ‘Don’t hit him, don’t hit him,” because I was mortified that exactly what happened was gonna happen. But there were so many other instances—the clearly blatant holds on the punt return that set up the final drive, the botched series midway through the 4th where the officials started the clock after an incomplete pass and did a do-over on the play. That one sneakily was a killer, because even though the Bengals eventually forced a punt on that drive, it cost them about 20 yards in field position that would have been crucial.

But having said all that—if the Bengals just had a slightly above average offensive line they would probably be getting ready to celebrate a second straight Super Bowl win. This years line was probably at that point until the three starters went down to injuries the last few weeks of the season. The window is still open, but pretty soon the excellent younger guys will have to get paid or shipped off, because you have to keep Burrow. Next year May be a Super Bowl or bust season, just like this year was for Buffalo.