Speaker 1: Happy holidays everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth podcast. So the end is near. Addition,
Speaker 1: as we look back at perhaps the most unbelievable finish
Speaker 1: in the eight hundred twenty two regular season or postseason
Speaker 1: games the Cincinnati Bengals have ever played. I am dead serious.
Speaker 1: They scored two touchdowns and added two two point conversions
Speaker 1: in the final twenty nine seconds of regulation to four's
Speaker 1: overtime before eventually losing to the Miami Dolphins thirty eight
Speaker 1: thirty five, a loss that gives the Bengals the number
Speaker 1: one pick in next year's draft. Coming up, you'll hear
Speaker 1: radio replays, locker room comments from players and coaches, and
Speaker 1: Dave Lapham will join me for postgame analysis. Finally, in
Speaker 1: this week's fun Facts Conversation, we'll meet the person under
Speaker 1: the pads is. I'll talk to a big man with
Speaker 1: a big personality, rookie offensive lineman Fred Johnson. All of
Speaker 1: that is straight ahead, But first, here's a quick reminder
Speaker 1: that you can have the latest edition of this podcast
Speaker 1: delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing
Speaker 1: on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean, it's
Speaker 1: the greatest thing since loyal Fans. It's been a tough
Speaker 1: year for Bengals fans, and I appreciate each and every
Speaker 1: one of you who listens to this podcast, goes to
Speaker 1: games at Paul Brown Stadium, attends our weekly radio shows,
Speaker 1: and most of all, keeps the faith. We know it's
Speaker 1: not always easy, so thank you for hanging in there,
Speaker 1: and here's hoping that better days are just around the corner. Now,
Speaker 1: let's get to Sunday's game. After an o and seven start,
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins have gone four and four since, led
Speaker 1: by thirty seven year old quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and a
Speaker 1: coaching staff that's not afraid to dip into its bag
Speaker 1: of tricks. High formation backfield, Fitzpatrick fakes a handoff, he throws, it,
Speaker 1: is caught and then dropped. It's a touchdown. They're saying
Speaker 1: that the big lineman who caught the football, Christian Wilkins,
Speaker 1: defensive tackle out of Clemson, first round draft pick this year,
Speaker 1: had it long enough for the touchdown to count. So
Speaker 1: the Dolphins first drive ended with a t d pass
Speaker 1: to a defensive lineman. Their second drive featured more razzle
Speaker 1: dazzle here's a run. Now, it's a pitch back to
Speaker 1: Fitzpatrick and he flings it high and deep down the
Speaker 1: middle of the field for Parker. He makes the catch
Speaker 1: at the ten and he'll be brought down around the
Speaker 1: six yard line by Will Jackson. The fleet flicker and
Speaker 1: the flea flicker works. It certainly did. It led to
Speaker 1: a seven yard touchdown pass to Davante Parker that gave
Speaker 1: Miami a fourteen nothing lead ten minutes into the game.
Speaker 1: A Randy Bullock field goal put the Bengals on the
Speaker 1: score board in the second quarter before the Dolphins quarterback
Speaker 1: struck again. Fitzpatrick takes the snap, he's looking right now,
Speaker 1: scans over the middle of the field, scrambles right, throws
Speaker 1: it for the end zone. It is caught Gassicki for
Speaker 1: the touchdown. Man. That's a broken coverage and they just
Speaker 1: totally lose track of Gassicki. I mean, there is nobody
Speaker 1: in the deep cardron of the football field and Ryan
Speaker 1: Fitzpatrick hits this big tight end. Fitzpatrick passed for two
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty two yards in the first half. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the Bengals had five three and outs and went oh
Speaker 1: for seven on third down conversions before ending the half
Speaker 1: on a positive note. Harris ready to snap it back.
Speaker 1: He fires it back, Hubert puts it down. Bullock launches
Speaker 1: the kid. It is straight enough, it is good, a
Speaker 1: franchise record fifty seven yard field goal by Randy Bullock.
Speaker 1: It leaves two seconds on the clock and the Bengals
Speaker 1: trail twenty one to six. The Bengals opened the second
Speaker 1: half with another three and out, and when the Dolphins
Speaker 1: answered with an eighty seven yard drive, it looked like
Speaker 1: the route was on empty backfield. Five wide, second and
Speaker 1: fourth from the Bengals thirteen. Fitzpatrick, looking for his fourth
Speaker 1: touchdown pass, scrambling around behind the line, throws into the
Speaker 1: back of the end zone, caught by Gasicki for another
Speaker 1: Miami touchdown. Dar Ques Denard was there, but Kisiki's bigger, stronger,
Speaker 1: and on that play better watched him out. It was
Speaker 1: twenty eight to six, and considering the fact that the
Speaker 1: Bengals had not scored a second half touchdown in their
Speaker 1: previous seven games, a comeback didn't seem likely. The first
Speaker 1: thing the Bengals had to do was end that streak
Speaker 1: of forty two second half possessions without a td going
Speaker 1: back to October twentieth three receivers left, one right. Dalton
Speaker 1: back to throw. He's going to fire toward the left
Speaker 1: side line. If he makes the catch, sprinting down the
Speaker 1: side line, lunches toward the pylon. Yes, touchdown Bengals. The
Speaker 1: drought ends on a fourth down touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd,
Speaker 1: and that is two hundred a d Andy Dalton has
Speaker 1: just become the first quarterback in history to throw two
Speaker 1: hundred touchdown passes in a Bengals uniform. A two point
Speaker 1: conversion attempt failed, and the Bengals went to the fourth
Speaker 1: quarter trailing twenty eight to twelve with eleven minutes left
Speaker 1: in regulation. A touchdown run by Miles Gaskin put the
Speaker 1: Dolphins up by twenty three in the fourth quarter. The
Speaker 1: Bengals have never won a game after trailing by more
Speaker 1: than twenty one, but in this game, they kept battling back.
Speaker 1: Dalton drops back to throw throws over the middle. It
Speaker 1: is caught for a touchdown c Juzama running the skinny post.
Speaker 1: The ball thrown with perfect timing by Andy Dalton, and
Speaker 1: c ju Zama hauls in his first touchdown catch of
Speaker 1: the year. Yeah. He dropped one that could have been
Speaker 1: a touchdown. Catch that one he snagged. The deficit was
Speaker 1: sixteen with six eleven to go. The Dolphins answered with
Speaker 1: a ten play drive that took three minutes off the
Speaker 1: clock and ended it with a forty seven yard field
Speaker 1: goal attempt that could have just about sealed the victory. However,
Speaker 1: Jason Sanders kick was wide left and the Bengals still
Speaker 1: had a chance. Right C. J Uzama, what we need
Speaker 1: to do is go down, score, get a two point version,
Speaker 1: get all inside kick, and score again. We had to
Speaker 1: score as fast as possible in this drive because I mean,
Speaker 1: obviously we have plays in certain situations to to you know,
Speaker 1: push the ball down the field. But I knew that
Speaker 1: the first drive was the most important when they missed
Speaker 1: the field goal, because we wanted to get and keep
Speaker 1: as much time on the clock as possible. The Bengals
Speaker 1: were out of timeouts and while they did score, they
Speaker 1: weren't able to leave much time on the clock. Two
Speaker 1: receivers right, one left, Uzamin a three point stance to
Speaker 1: the right. He's going to go into the end zone
Speaker 1: for a pass. Here's a slam. It is caught by
Speaker 1: Boyd and he's into the end zone for a Bengals touchdown.
Speaker 1: He got the ball across the plane. You only need
Speaker 1: the tiniest portion of the football to go over the
Speaker 1: front edge of the white stripe. That's all it takes,
Speaker 1: and I think that's all Tyler Boyd did for the
Speaker 1: Bengals touchdown. The Bengals were down by ten with only
Speaker 1: twenty nine seconds to go. Dalton catches the shotgun snap
Speaker 1: looking for Eyffornios. It is caught for a two point conversion,
Speaker 1: and the Bengals have a slim hope, just a glimmer
Speaker 1: of hope. Their hope depended on recovering an on side kick.
Speaker 1: The Bengals hadn't done that in their previous eight attempts
Speaker 1: over a span of one hundred forty nine games. Here
Speaker 1: comes the on side kick. It bounces way up in
Speaker 1: the battles have it. The Bengals recover at the forty
Speaker 1: six as Jordan Evans comes away with the ricochet. It
Speaker 1: is the first successful on side kick that the Bengals
Speaker 1: have pulled off in nine years, and they have a
Speaker 1: puncher's chance with twenty nine seconds to go. Stanley Morgan
Speaker 1: knocked it backward to Jordan Evans, who discussed his recovery. Yeah,
Speaker 1: just Bob popped out right to me and I'll secured it.
Speaker 1: And you know, you have the team opportunity to go
Speaker 1: down there, and as I did, they score first onside
Speaker 1: kick the Bengals have pulled off since twenty ten. On
Speaker 1: that play, are you specifically looking for a bounce back?
Speaker 1: Are you trying to be a few yards kind of
Speaker 1: behind where the ball is? I mean it's just onside kick,
Speaker 1: so everyone's looking for the ball. The Bengals had it
Speaker 1: at their own forty six with twenty eight seconds left.
Speaker 1: A twenty nine yard passed to Tyler Boyd put them
Speaker 1: at the Dolphins twenty five before a spike stopped the clock.
Speaker 1: With four seconds to go, enough time for a hail Mary.
Speaker 1: Four seconds to go, the Bengals are twenty five yards away.
Speaker 1: The Dolphins put eight defenders in the end zone. Dalton,
Speaker 1: back to throw, has time, looking throws towards the end
Speaker 1: zone into a clock is caught on it by Tyler Eiffert.
Speaker 1: I can't believe what I have just seen. The Bengals
Speaker 1: are a two point conversion away from potentially forcing overtime.
Speaker 1: As Dalton's twenty five yard touchdown pass is caught by
Speaker 1: a leaping Tyler Eiffert. Bengals fans heads are about to explode.
Speaker 1: They still got to convert on the two point conversion.
Speaker 1: The ball was placed at the two yard line with
Speaker 1: no time on the clock. Dalton looking to throw, looking
Speaker 1: scrambling to the right. He could run for two. He's
Speaker 1: charging toward the down. He's in. He has tied the
Speaker 1: game at thirty five, and this game is going to overtime.
Speaker 1: Here's c j Uzama. We were just riding a wave
Speaker 1: and it felt incredible. Um. You know, obviously it's to
Speaker 1: be able to pull something like that off. But at
Speaker 1: the same time, you know you gotta quick flip a
Speaker 1: quick switch. Said okay, well we still have over time. Um,
Speaker 1: but no doubt. I mean when that happened, it was
Speaker 1: it was electric on the sideline and UM, in my
Speaker 1: mind and I'm sure a lot of the people's minds,
Speaker 1: we were, um, we we're gonna go down to win.
Speaker 1: But fittingly this season, that's not how it turned out.
Speaker 1: The Bengals had two possessions in overtime and we're not
Speaker 1: able to get a single first down on the Dolphins
Speaker 1: third drive inot A twenty eight yard pass from Fitzpatrick
Speaker 1: to Isaiah Ford put Miami in field goal range from
Speaker 1: the left hash a thirty seven yard try to win
Speaker 1: the game in overtime for Miami. Sanders is ready. The snap,
Speaker 1: the put down, the swing of the leg, the kick
Speaker 1: is up. It's good. It is good. The Dolphins win
Speaker 1: and the Bengals have the first pick in next year's draft.
Speaker 1: And as the season has gone mentioned it earlier, the Bengals,
Speaker 1: instead of doing just enough to win, do just enough
Speaker 1: to lose. The impact of this week's loss next year's
Speaker 1: draft was impossible to ignore. The Bengals can now try
Speaker 1: to beat the Browns next week without anybody having to
Speaker 1: worry that it could cost them the number one pick.
Speaker 1: As a result, many Bengals fans weren't exactly heartbroken after
Speaker 1: the loss in Miami, but for players like u Zamba,
Speaker 1: it wasn't cause for celebration. I love our fans, I
Speaker 1: respect them, but respectfully, like, I don't really care about
Speaker 1: any of that. I'm here to win, and we're here
Speaker 1: to win, and we want to win for these coaches
Speaker 1: who want to win, for the for the brothers that
Speaker 1: have put the you know, their blood sweat and tears
Speaker 1: into um being in this position. And and you know,
Speaker 1: we're giving um God given abilities for a reason, and
Speaker 1: we have to use them. We're not just gonna go
Speaker 1: out there and lay an egg or lay down or
Speaker 1: any of that. You know, We're here to compete, and
Speaker 1: that's what we're trying to show UM. And so yeah,
Speaker 1: all that outside noise is outside noise. And UM, I
Speaker 1: respect the heck out of every single person and here
Speaker 1: who play their hearts up. The final score thirty eight
Speaker 1: thirty five is the Bengal fell to one and fourteen.
Speaker 1: Here's effort. I had an incredible comeback that came up short.
Speaker 1: We scored six points in the first half, and it
Speaker 1: just felt like we couldn't do anything. And uh, you know, guys,
Speaker 1: just keep fighting. You know, that's all you can really
Speaker 1: ask for. No One, no one gave up and laid down.
Speaker 1: And obviously we'd rather win the game than say we
Speaker 1: tried hard. But um, you know, at least at least
Speaker 1: we got to fight. We got that, We got that
Speaker 1: part down. How about you with that hill? Mary Man
Speaker 1: went up over everybody. Yeah, I mean it just it's
Speaker 1: one of those plays that you you practice all the time,
Speaker 1: but very rarely does it actually play out just because
Speaker 1: the odds are against you, but it never happens. Like
Speaker 1: you go out there and you do your best and
Speaker 1: you're gonna try to make it happen, but so many
Speaker 1: things have to go right, and just it just sucks
Speaker 1: for us not to come all the way back and
Speaker 1: you know, not get it done in the end. Dalton
Speaker 1: through a career high fifty six passes, completing thirty three
Speaker 1: for three hundred ninety six yards, four touchdowns and no picks.
Speaker 1: After the game, I spoke to the guy who snapped
Speaker 1: him the football in the locker room with Bengal center
Speaker 1: Trey Hopkins. Was an unbelievable finish down by twenty three
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter. You foight back and got it
Speaker 1: to ot what was going through your mind? Um? You know, really,
Speaker 1: I gotta give a big shout out to Andy. Um.
Speaker 1: Andy's since, I mean since I've been the part of
Speaker 1: this offense, and he's always been the heart. I feel
Speaker 1: like when when Tom's a going tough and today was
Speaker 1: no exception, that he never stopped believing, always encourage and
Speaker 1: always letting us know as long as we have Tom,
Speaker 1: we have we have a shot. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1: He told us at half time, still wasn't going right,
Speaker 1: told us in the third quarters, things still ring going right.
Speaker 1: Even to the fourth quarter, he's still saying the same things.
Speaker 1: Just believably believe. And then he went out there and
Speaker 1: made stuff happening. After they missed the field goal when
Speaker 1: they're up by sixteen. I kind of and through what
Speaker 1: was required gott to score two touchdowns, two two point conversions,
Speaker 1: requiring onside kick. I listed it without even really thinking
Speaker 1: it could happen. Are you doing the same kind of
Speaker 1: math in your head? Yeah? Yeah, Um, I think I
Speaker 1: think a lot of guys are. Um. But you just
Speaker 1: you're looking at the time host time, you got what
Speaker 1: could possibly happen, what we need to happen. And when
Speaker 1: you when you list things like that, it kind of
Speaker 1: looks like, I mean, you got your back up in
Speaker 1: at the wall. It's not really doesn't look very probable,
Speaker 1: but I mean you got you got extraordinary people in here,
Speaker 1: good extraordinary things done, and I'm very proud of The
Speaker 1: outcome is obviously not what you wanted. But do you
Speaker 1: walk out of here feeling at least somewhat good about
Speaker 1: the comeback? Oh yeah, feel you feel good about the combat? Um, definitely,
Speaker 1: it was exciting. Um. Like I said, Andy brought us
Speaker 1: a spark that we definitely needed. But then without even
Speaker 1: watching the film, then you think about, I mean you
Speaker 1: have three quarters, you know, three quarters, Well, we just
Speaker 1: were not very productive. We're not very good on offense.
Speaker 1: That put us in that position. Um. So yeah, it's
Speaker 1: good and bad, but you can't you can't be unrealistic
Speaker 1: and get too excited about the end when you had
Speaker 1: the whole game to be productive and the opportunity. You
Speaker 1: did have the ball in overtime a couple of times
Speaker 1: and just couldn't get it gone exactly exactly. So there's
Speaker 1: there's things to clean up. Yeah, that was that was
Speaker 1: a bright spot. It was exciting, but I mean there's
Speaker 1: a lot of room for improvement. Got a game left,
Speaker 1: it's at home, it's against AFC North Arrival. A chance
Speaker 1: to finish on a positive note. Yeah for sure. I
Speaker 1: mean we owe those guy us um outside our house,
Speaker 1: and it's it's the last shot. It's the last shot
Speaker 1: of the twenty nineteen Bengals going out and playing together.
Speaker 1: We've been through a lot this season. I mean each
Speaker 1: and every guy, and in this building, on this team,
Speaker 1: on the roster as as it's moved throughout the season.
Speaker 1: I mean, it fought through something personally and on the team,
Speaker 1: and we owe it to each other to go out
Speaker 1: with the bang and get it and get it up. Now,
Speaker 1: time to hear from head coach Zach Taylor, who spent
Speaker 1: about four minutes with Lap after the game. Coach, um, unbelievable.
Speaker 1: I don't think I've seen sixteen points scored in thirty
Speaker 1: three seconds any any level of football. This is the
Speaker 1: first time I've seen you. Have you experienced anything like
Speaker 1: that before, not that I can think of. It's a
Speaker 1: resilient group, you know, And it speaks to the character
Speaker 1: we have in the locker room there. Here we are
Speaker 1: in week sixteen. There's not a lot to play for
Speaker 1: other than pride and for each other. And to be
Speaker 1: down twenty three points, there was six minutes left to
Speaker 1: fight back, and all three phases speak speaks to what
Speaker 1: we know, what what kind of character we got in
Speaker 1: this locker room. When you think of the laundry list
Speaker 1: of things that had to go right, I mean special teams, defense,
Speaker 1: I mean offense, and Andy. Andy ends up thirty three
Speaker 1: for fifty six three hundred ninety six yards, four touchdowns,
Speaker 1: no interceptions, has the two point conversion. Tyler Boyd nine catches,
Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty yards a couple of touchdowns. Effort
Speaker 1: makes the you know, the spectacular play on the on
Speaker 1: the hill, Mar, I mean, everybody stepped up, they did,
Speaker 1: you know, and it shoot, we had guys dropping like flies,
Speaker 1: you know. And so starters are having to playing on
Speaker 1: special teams, guys are having to play more reps on offense.
Speaker 1: And I thought they were gonna play, and um, I
Speaker 1: know they were retired. I know they were. They were
Speaker 1: hurt when died whatever it is, and and they gave
Speaker 1: us everything in the head. You know, you're talking about
Speaker 1: two resilient guys at the quarterback position, Ryan Fitzpatrick and
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton. There's more similarities and differences between those guys,
Speaker 1: isn't there. Yeah. They're competitive, they're great leaders for their team.
Speaker 1: They're like coaches out there playing a position. You know,
Speaker 1: I saw him check in a million times and he
Speaker 1: checked a bunch. So two guys that you had a
Speaker 1: lot of confidence in at the quarterback position. So I know,
Speaker 1: obviously a big lesson to be learned is and I've
Speaker 1: said this to a couple of players, Yogi Barris said
Speaker 1: it and over till it's over. I mean, is that
Speaker 1: the biggest thing to take out of this football game?
Speaker 1: At some point this is going to serve us well
Speaker 1: in the future. You know that we know that we
Speaker 1: can fight back from anything as long as we believe
Speaker 1: and just do your job, you know. I think in
Speaker 1: the first half, guys were really pressed and trying to
Speaker 1: make plays. And once we settled down and guys just
Speaker 1: did their job, let the plays come to them, the
Speaker 1: game slowed down and we were able to get back
Speaker 1: in it. But you know, we just got to learn
Speaker 1: from those lessons. Yeah, like you said, in the first half,
Speaker 1: I know it was. It was in the first half
Speaker 1: you had five drives that we're three and out drives.
Speaker 1: And then in the second half, particularly down the strets
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter. I mean, Ryan Fitzpatrick had one
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty yards passing in the first quarter and
Speaker 1: he just try he had two fifty at a half
Speaker 1: and his numbers were just the opposite. I mean, So
Speaker 1: you know, it's one of those dynamics where guys feed
Speaker 1: off each other. Once somebody makes a place that I
Speaker 1: can do the same thing. It's as simple as they were.
Speaker 1: They were capitalized all the one on one opportunities they
Speaker 1: had in the first half, and we were not. We
Speaker 1: were we were losing them all on offense and defense.
Speaker 1: And so you're right. They started fast, they started hot,
Speaker 1: They punched us to the mouth, and we didn't respond
Speaker 1: well early on, but our guys settled in and showed
Speaker 1: who they really are. What did you say to the
Speaker 1: guys at halftime in a situation like that, and I know,
Speaker 1: you know we couldn't really hear what you you were saying. Well,
Speaker 1: we could hear you were animated after the game in
Speaker 1: the lockerman. I don't expect you to tell us, you know,
Speaker 1: in how stuff, what you're talking to your team about.
Speaker 1: But overall, if you could deliver what kind of message
Speaker 1: you were given it at halftime and after the game,
Speaker 1: just as I said, you know, we were losing the
Speaker 1: one on once and we just had to slow down,
Speaker 1: be disciplined with your technique and let let the plays
Speaker 1: come to you, Let the action come to you. Stop
Speaker 1: pressing so hard trying to make plays and just use
Speaker 1: your technique. They're playing man coverage on defense, the jam
Speaker 1: front like, we know what they're doing. We know we
Speaker 1: got to do to execute to win, and our guys,
Speaker 1: you know, really, I think it took the bestage to
Speaker 1: heart there in the second half on one game left,
Speaker 1: and it's a division rival, the Cleveland Browns. They lose today,
Speaker 1: um to you know they can't have a winning season.
Speaker 1: You know it's going to be a couple of football
Speaker 1: teams that are going to be I think, you know, disappointed,
Speaker 1: but still want to go out in a high note.
Speaker 1: You know, it's a big division rivalry. We're gonna be hungry.
Speaker 1: We're finishing at home against a divisional team that we
Speaker 1: felt like we didn't give him our best the last
Speaker 1: time we played him, and so there there's plenty left
Speaker 1: for us to play. Four here. After Lap finished talking
Speaker 1: to Zach, he joined me for postgame analysis and we
Speaker 1: discussed the craziest finished Lap has witnessed in more than
Speaker 1: three decades as a Bengals broadcaster. Never seen it. You know,
Speaker 1: all the guys I talked to, I asked, you know,
Speaker 1: have you ever played in a game or seeing a
Speaker 1: game like that? And they really couldn't calling any and
Speaker 1: he said, maybe one close in high school, but not
Speaker 1: quite like that. When you think of everything that had
Speaker 1: to happen for them to get it done. The onside
Speaker 1: kick they hail maryed by Tyler Eifert, that's answered, you know,
Speaker 1: the scoring, two touchdowns, and two point conversions. The checklist
Speaker 1: is long, and for them to get it done and
Speaker 1: make plays. And everybody I talked to was so frustrated
Speaker 1: because in the first half they had five three and
Speaker 1: outs and they were doing that. Miami is doing the
Speaker 1: same thing man coverage, and you know, they're saying, you know,
Speaker 1: just let's just make plays. But it seemed like guys
Speaker 1: were pressing, you know, guys were just trying to force plays,
Speaker 1: make plays. And once they had just calmed down and relaxed,
Speaker 1: and once one play was made, it kind of opened
Speaker 1: the damn and everybody started making plays and everybody kind
Speaker 1: of fed off of that, and then the whole thing,
Speaker 1: you know, just turned into what it turned into down
Speaker 1: the stretch. But Miami really didn't do anything differently. The
Speaker 1: Bengals just didn't get it done in the first half,
Speaker 1: and they got it done big time in the second half,
Speaker 1: particularly in the fourth quarter. And when you look at it,
Speaker 1: I mean, Fitzpatrick had one hundred and fifty yards passing
Speaker 1: in the first quarter, two fifty and the half, and
Speaker 1: Andy his numbers weren't like that, and then they flipped,
Speaker 1: you know, just slipped completely around. So it was it
Speaker 1: was a very very interesting football game for sure. I
Speaker 1: think everybody felt like if they won the coin flip,
Speaker 1: they would have won the game. But they all say, hey, look,
Speaker 1: we should have still won the game. We had the
Speaker 1: momentum even if we won the coin flip. We gotta
Speaker 1: win that football game. They did have two possessions in overtime,
Speaker 1: so they had a chance. Ye. Andy Dalton wound up
Speaker 1: with three hundred ninety six passing yards four touchdown passes.
Speaker 1: They all came in the second half. It seems like
Speaker 1: there's strong possibility that Andy is not going to be
Speaker 1: back with Cincinnati next year. We'll see in the offseason,
Speaker 1: but if this turns out to be one of his
Speaker 1: last games in a Bengals uniform, that second half was
Speaker 1: about as well as he's played. You know, the guy
Speaker 1: the other quarterback. We've seen Ryan fitzmagic do his Fitch magic,
Speaker 1: you know, and it was Andy that did a lot
Speaker 1: of magic. So I think there's more similarities than differences.
Speaker 1: You know, between those two guys at the quarterback position,
Speaker 1: and see those two, you know, like they're they're almost
Speaker 1: coaches their respective teams, not just quarterbacks. And there's leadership qualities,
Speaker 1: there's intelligence, there's all those things, and you know, guys
Speaker 1: believe in them and guys trust them. And so it
Speaker 1: was interesting to see will Ryan Fitzpatrick be back as
Speaker 1: a Dolphin if they take a quarterback with one of
Speaker 1: their first round picks. Will Andy Dalton be back as
Speaker 1: a quarterback if the Bengals take a quarterback with their
Speaker 1: first pick, which they've now got the first pick of
Speaker 1: the draft. All these questions are to be answered, but
Speaker 1: it was interested to see these two guys in a
Speaker 1: prideful way, you know, down the stretch of their respective careers,
Speaker 1: potentially with these two teams play the way they played.
Speaker 1: How about Randy Bullock. A week after that embarrassing on
Speaker 1: side kick attempt that spun to a stop after five yards,
Speaker 1: he sets a franchise record with a fifty seven yard
Speaker 1: field goal that was done once in a playoff game
Speaker 1: by Mike new gympethis officially goes in the book as
Speaker 1: a new Bengals record. And then a perfectly executed on
Speaker 1: side kick to give the Bengals a chance. I mean
Speaker 1: they put the ball on its side and helicopter deal
Speaker 1: that went five yards was monked in almost every football
Speaker 1: show I saw during the course of the week, I
Speaker 1: mean mocked, and now I'm sure they won't because it
Speaker 1: was executed so perfectly. It went from being mocked to
Speaker 1: this onside kick, you know, the second bounce, getting the
Speaker 1: heightened and Stanley Morgan made a great effort to get
Speaker 1: after the ball and had possession and then just lost
Speaker 1: the possession a little bit and Jordan Evans is right
Speaker 1: there to get it bouncing off the tourugh. I mean,
Speaker 1: think of the three things that had to happen just
Speaker 1: on the onside kick to be executed the way it
Speaker 1: was executed. So hopefully Randy Bullet gets some credit with
Speaker 1: some of these football shows as opposed to, you know,
Speaker 1: being mocked for his performance the week before. On defense,
Speaker 1: Darius Phillips had an interception and played well after Will
Speaker 1: Jackson left with an injury. He really did. I mean
Speaker 1: Darius Phillips, he provides sticky coverage, he gets his head
Speaker 1: snapped around, finds the football. I think he's he's you
Speaker 1: know We know he can return the football. He provides
Speaker 1: some diversity and skill set, you know, to the football team.
Speaker 1: So I think his career's arrowing up, There's no question
Speaker 1: about it. And you know a lot of guys made
Speaker 1: made players when they when they needed to to give
Speaker 1: the team a chance to win this football game. I mean,
Speaker 1: it didn't. It didn't look very good for for quite
Speaker 1: a while. Down the stretch it was. It may have
Speaker 1: been as crazy a game in the fourth quarters I
Speaker 1: think I've seen, I don't know, maybe forever. One game
Speaker 1: left at home against the Cleveland Browns has no impact
Speaker 1: on the draft as far as the Bengals concerned. They
Speaker 1: can try to go out with a victory at home
Speaker 1: against Cleveland, and everybody in the stands I'll be rooting
Speaker 1: for that outcome for Cincinnati, no question. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: it's a division opponent. Don't have a division game this season.
Speaker 1: It's been quite about while since won a division game.
Speaker 1: Didn't get a road win this year. It's the fourth
Speaker 1: team that didn't get that done in franchise history. You
Speaker 1: do not want to be a team that doesn't get
Speaker 1: a division win for an entire season. You know, that's
Speaker 1: that's not something that you want to hang your hat on. So,
Speaker 1: you know, hopefully the way this game ended, some momentum
Speaker 1: will carry over from that and no play, you know,
Speaker 1: at a high level for the entire football game against
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Browns because his day own for sure. There's
Speaker 1: one game left in the season and after that. We
Speaker 1: will be doing a lot of draft analysis between now
Speaker 1: and April twenty third. At the moment, most of the
Speaker 1: draft gurus have LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and Ohio State
Speaker 1: defensive end Chase Young as the top two players on
Speaker 1: the board. Recently, I asked Pro Football Focus analysts Sam
Speaker 1: monson if the first pick should be Burrow, Young or
Speaker 1: somebody else. I think it should be Joe Burrow. You know,
Speaker 1: he is the best college quarterback right now. He's the
Speaker 1: guy that will be the best quarterback prospect on the
Speaker 1: board at the time. I think that was close between
Speaker 1: him and two of I think he's had such an
Speaker 1: incredible season statistically, He's putting up some accuracy numbers that
Speaker 1: we've never seen from quarterbacks before. And the bottom line
Speaker 1: is nothing moves the needle more than a quarterback, you know,
Speaker 1: and less you have the quarterback, almost nothing else matters.
Speaker 1: So Chase Young is having his own incredible season. He's
Speaker 1: putting up the best pass rushing season we've ever seen
Speaker 1: in college football. He's probably the best player both in
Speaker 1: the country and in the draft. But if you don't
Speaker 1: have a quarterback, Chase Young is not going to win
Speaker 1: you games. You know, he may be worth a win
Speaker 1: two wins above replacement, whereas Joe Burrow, if he pounds out,
Speaker 1: he's the guy that will propel you from you know,
Speaker 1: contending for the number one overall pick, to being right
Speaker 1: back in a playoff conversation if he works out. It's
Speaker 1: one of many key decisions the Bengals will be facing
Speaker 1: this offseason. But first things first. On Sunday, the Bengals
Speaker 1: end the season against the six and nine Cleveland Browns,
Speaker 1: who will not only miss the playoffs for the seventeenth
Speaker 1: straight year, but the Sports Illustrated preseason cover boys are
Speaker 1: guaranteed of having a worse record than last year when
Speaker 1: they went seven eight and one. Now time for this
Speaker 1: week's fun Facts interview, where we get to know the
Speaker 1: person under the pads. This week, it's a rookie offensive
Speaker 1: lineman who got his most playing time as a pro
Speaker 1: this week in Miami. Time for some fun facts with
Speaker 1: offensive lineman Fred Johnson from West Palm Beach, Florida, on
Speaker 1: the East Coast, a little bit north of Miami. What
Speaker 1: do you love about your hometown? The weather? First and
Speaker 1: four most. I love the weather about the city, and
Speaker 1: it's just I just love it because it's home. You know,
Speaker 1: the sunshine, the rain, all of it. Fred, you are
Speaker 1: not a guy who grew up spending your whole life
Speaker 1: dreaming of playing in the NFL. Correct, No, not at all,
Speaker 1: not even at all. We just just watch games. Nobody
Speaker 1: would ever think that any of us in the roll, me,
Speaker 1: my cousins and my granddad and like any one of
Speaker 1: us would be in an NFL game, let alone on
Speaker 1: the NFL roster. I've heard you described as being a
Speaker 1: late bloomer. Is that accurate? Late bloomer? Is accurate? Is
Speaker 1: did the coaches more or less have to drag you
Speaker 1: out there to get you to start playing football my
Speaker 1: senior year, I mean my junior year, Like one of
Speaker 1: the coaches got tired of me going to the library
Speaker 1: every day at lunch. I just play video games and stuff.
Speaker 1: Held like, just come out one day and then the
Speaker 1: team my teammates really the ones who you know, let
Speaker 1: me keep with it, you know, made me want to
Speaker 1: come back out there every day. So really was a
Speaker 1: teammates thing, just just the whole chemistry of a team.
Speaker 1: It was really made me stick around. She didn't play
Speaker 1: varsity football in high school until you were a senior.
Speaker 1: Did you start to love it or did you see
Speaker 1: the opportunities that might be there? I loved it, like
Speaker 1: just that senior spring. I promise you it was one
Speaker 1: of the hardest manors I ever went through, you know,
Speaker 1: high school because I want to play like one year.
Speaker 1: So that first man that I went through it was
Speaker 1: really you know, just a bondom with me and my teammates,
Speaker 1: you know, and just that that senior season was like
Speaker 1: I got open, like my eyes open to the opportunities
Speaker 1: of going to college and doing something that nobody in
Speaker 1: my family ever done, you know. So I really it
Speaker 1: really didn't start processing until like the end of the
Speaker 1: year when I had to you know, get qualified and
Speaker 1: all my grades and stuff before I can even be
Speaker 1: able to go to college. Because I got accepted in
Speaker 1: the college, but I wasn't not they didn't know if
Speaker 1: I was gonna graduate high school. So it was one
Speaker 1: of those deals and just to just to love of
Speaker 1: the game and the opportunities that it had. I could
Speaker 1: go to your education free, so I took it. See
Speaker 1: you playing video games in the library. What were some
Speaker 1: of the other things you like to do when you
Speaker 1: were young? Um? Another really too crazy, like you know,
Speaker 1: all the basic stuff that you know, little kids like doing,
Speaker 1: playing outside and stuff like that. Really took a liking to, um,
Speaker 1: just video games, like growing up, just trying to be
Speaker 1: the best at that because I didn't really have to
Speaker 1: do much, so it was pretty easy fell in love
Speaker 1: with I wanted to be a basketball player like my uncle,
Speaker 1: but that didn't turn out any too well because of
Speaker 1: the because of the conditioning for it. So when I
Speaker 1: fell into football, I kind of loved it because of
Speaker 1: his with it. There's something that basketball. Let all right,
Speaker 1: you mentioned your uncle, Oh this Thorpe seventeen years in
Speaker 1: the NBA, an All Star, an NBA champion. How much
Speaker 1: did you know about his career growing up? Really just
Speaker 1: because how tall he was, we knew like instantly, like
Speaker 1: he was, you know, a very famous world veteran person
Speaker 1: and just his his a history and just like what
Speaker 1: he did to get to where he was at now,
Speaker 1: is um you know something that I admired, something that
Speaker 1: I wanted to do, Like I always wanted to play basketball,
Speaker 1: and just when like it didn't work out, I was
Speaker 1: kind of bombed. You know what I found. I think
Speaker 1: I found my calling in football. And just you know,
Speaker 1: he tries to mentor me like hearing there, you know
Speaker 1: sometimes they call him out the blue and just asked me,
Speaker 1: like I think it's going, you know, give me a
Speaker 1: little advice that I need, you know, nothing too much,
Speaker 1: nothing too much to weigh me down, but just another
Speaker 1: to keep me up, like about my head above order
Speaker 1: and stuff. So it's pretty cool. So one year a
Speaker 1: varsity football in high school and just like that, you're
Speaker 1: offered scholarships by great college football programs. You wind up
Speaker 1: with the Florida Gators and you actually started a couple
Speaker 1: of games as a true freshman, even only playing one
Speaker 1: year of high school football, and your head had to
Speaker 1: be spinning when we first got into college. Um, like,
Speaker 1: I went to college just because like just just the
Speaker 1: off the competition I was there. I knew like ten
Speaker 1: guys was going to be enrolled that year because they
Speaker 1: was down office alignment and fell in love with the
Speaker 1: SEC as soon as I stepped from into the stadium
Speaker 1: so spring like. I was like, man, I love it here,
Speaker 1: Like I need to come here and then get thrown
Speaker 1: into the fire like you just said, as a true freshman.
Speaker 1: Uh was kind of scary, kind of whirlwind. Freshman year
Speaker 1: kind of flew by better remember, But I remember my
Speaker 1: first game. I was about to play and I think
Speaker 1: it was New Mexico State, and one of my teammates
Speaker 1: came like right before us when to go, and he's like,
Speaker 1: are you scared? I was like, no, he's scared, Like
Speaker 1: why would you ask that? Like, you know, great experiences there.
Speaker 1: I learned the game as the years went on and
Speaker 1: really got like really got a holding of it now.
Speaker 1: So the first first few games was really tough. I've
Speaker 1: been to Gainesville. Great college campus, great college life. What
Speaker 1: did you enjoy the most about being at the University
Speaker 1: of Florida? The members I have. You look at football,
Speaker 1: you look at social life, the friends I've made, the
Speaker 1: coaches I've met, you know, and they're interacted with. You'll
Speaker 1: never find no type of anything like that anywhere else,
Speaker 1: Like the Florida campus, the fans especially the fans. The
Speaker 1: fans are literally what makes you want to go to
Speaker 1: I really committed because I've seen we went to a
Speaker 1: basketball game, Like during my visit, I've seen this lady,
Speaker 1: older lady just clapping like like cheering on the cheering
Speaker 1: on the game and like just not even watching it,
Speaker 1: like she was walking back to her seat. I was like,
Speaker 1: I love it here. I can't so really the atmosphere
Speaker 1: of just the campus itself, you know, the team, the history,
Speaker 1: the pride in it. It really sticks with me. Now.
Speaker 1: All right, So after college, you signed us a college
Speaker 1: free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers. You make the team
Speaker 1: out of training camp and and in October they tried
Speaker 1: to move you from the roster the practice squad and
Speaker 1: the Bengals snatched you up. Was that difficult considering that
Speaker 1: you're really just getting established in Pittsburgh. Yeah, that's difficult. Um,
Speaker 1: Like I said, uh like could like I thank everybody
Speaker 1: to steal this organization for giving me a shot, you know,
Speaker 1: to come out and show what I can do. And
Speaker 1: really I took it upon myself, like to go to
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh when there was other options there. The history of
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh and the physicality that they bring, like their team
Speaker 1: is known for. I wanted to be a part of it,
Speaker 1: and when they waived me, it was it was difficult,
Speaker 1: you know. I had to accept the fact that I
Speaker 1: was being waived and that I could be back on
Speaker 1: the private squad soon. But um, I mean it was
Speaker 1: just h it was. It was a tough process. But
Speaker 1: right when I got here, I felt like, you know,
Speaker 1: I could really make a home here too, So it
Speaker 1: was no big deal. A few more fun facts with
Speaker 1: Fred Johnson with the Bengal. So far, you've been used
Speaker 1: primarily as a sixth offensive lineman, but a couple of
Speaker 1: games ago against Cleveland, you where the primary option on
Speaker 1: a pass. You're gonna try to trick the Cleveland Browns
Speaker 1: and throw it to the big foul. To their credit,
Speaker 1: they sniffed it out and they covered you pretty well.
Speaker 1: But how exciting was that possibility for you? Oh? So bad?
Speaker 1: It was covering me. I was like, come on, like
Speaker 1: come on, we can, like let me have my moment
Speaker 1: like at least one time in my career, and it
Speaker 1: was just it was so exciting. I wanted to score
Speaker 1: a touchdown and then I was like, I was very nervous,
Speaker 1: like leader to the air just about running that route.
Speaker 1: You know, all my team is giving me like, you know,
Speaker 1: like joking with me about it and stuff. Don't drop
Speaker 1: the ball and drop the ball, And I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm not evenna drop the ball. I just think about
Speaker 1: what I'm gonna do after ILL score the touchdown. So
Speaker 1: when I say that, two of them was like on me,
Speaker 1: and I was like, oh lord, this this is my
Speaker 1: dream going going bay by something. It was. It was
Speaker 1: what it is. H it was fun like they called it,
Speaker 1: you know. Uh. And I ran that route as fast
Speaker 1: as I could too. Do you have a good celebration plan?
Speaker 1: Oh no right now. No. Probably might just spiked the
Speaker 1: ball and run out then grab the ball hope to
Speaker 1: put it like my memory case or something like that.
Speaker 1: But no, not really, nothing too crazy right now. All right,
Speaker 1: A couple more fun facts. If Fred Johnson, what do
Speaker 1: you like to spend your money on shoes? Probably? No,
Speaker 1: I like like buying shoes and stuff clothes. You know,
Speaker 1: you can never have too many clothes. But I just
Speaker 1: spent like some of my money home for my cave flans,
Speaker 1: So I don't really like I like video games, I
Speaker 1: buy any video game, I like, I don't really, I'm
Speaker 1: not really too promising like jewelry and stuff right now,
Speaker 1: not yet. Just I'm a ricky. I was on drafted,
Speaker 1: so trying to save my money. But really video games
Speaker 1: and shoes. Do you have a hidden talent? I think
Speaker 1: I could sing, but nobody else thinks I could sing,
Speaker 1: so like Nope, but not at all, not on all
Speaker 1: of your recording. Maybe in person, you know, with like
Speaker 1: blaring music in the background, but nothing really nothing really
Speaker 1: too crazy. Where do you terrible at? I am terrible
Speaker 1: at trying Like dancing, I'm I don't think I'm terrible,
Speaker 1: but I'm not really good. I'm not really good at it.
Speaker 1: So when I try to do it, I'll do it
Speaker 1: to the best of my ability. I do what I
Speaker 1: know I could do. I don't try to go out
Speaker 1: my way, you know, stick to what you now, stick
Speaker 1: to what you know exactly. Um that's about it. Think
Speaker 1: people say I'm terrible like cooking, but I don't believe him.
Speaker 1: As long as you like what you cut, that's exactly right,
Speaker 1: all right. Final fund fact, if you can meet anybody
Speaker 1: in history, athlete, actor, politician, religious figure, whatever, historical figure
Speaker 1: who would that person be. It had to be like
Speaker 1: Malcolm Atics or Martin Luther King one or two. You know,
Speaker 1: both of them picked their brain a little bit. You know. Uh.
Speaker 1: If I can mean anybody living, you'll probably be Will
Speaker 1: Smith just because of the knowledge he has. Um. Not
Speaker 1: too many people see it, but I feel like he's
Speaker 1: a knowledgeable person. You know. Um, he can do it all.
Speaker 1: He could do it all. You know, most things you
Speaker 1: know he could do that would probably be it. All Right,
Speaker 1: this is fun. You're off the hot seat, appreciate the time.
Speaker 1: We want to remind you to come out and join
Speaker 1: us at our final on location radio show this week
Speaker 1: on Friday afternoon, Buffalo Wings and Rings Beckett Ridge Location
Speaker 1: will host the Bengals pep Rally Show from three to six.
Speaker 1: A guest will join us in the final hour and
Speaker 1: we'll have plenty of giveaways too. That's going to do
Speaker 1: it for this episode of the podcast. If you haven't
Speaker 1: done so already, don't forget to subscribe, and if you
Speaker 1: have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment.
Speaker 1: Those five star ratings help more Bengals fans find this podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and thanks for
Speaker 1: listening to the Bengals Booth podcast.