NFL teams
Coley Harvey, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Bengals think it's 'not the end of the world'

CINCINNATI -- Chicken Little doesn't have a locker inside Paul Brown Stadium.

At least, according to two Cincinnati Bengals veterans he doesn't.

The sky isn't falling inside the Bengals' locker room, team stalwarts Andrew Whitworth and Domata Peko said Monday, even though they are well aware that outside the comforts of their four walls, the perception is that it is.

"It's not the end of the world, guys," Peko said, smiling as he looked directly into a local news camera after answering a series of questions about the Bengals' 27-0 loss at Indianapolis on Sunday. "We'll be all right."

Peko was sending a message to panicked Bengals fans nervous about what the team's two-loss, one-tie showing the past three weeks might portend.

"I told a lot of guys, 'come on, we'll be all right,'" Peko said. "We've got 10 games left. Let's just take it one game at a time."

Whitworth encouraged his teammates to remain patient.

"If you are playing NFL football and you are panicking, then you are not going to be in this league for very long," Whitworth said. "You have an opportunity every week in the NFL to win. That's been proven more often this year than any. One place is not safe for the whole year."

As much as Whitworth hopes words like those may prove comforting to his teammates, for most Bengals fans they don't change the fact the team is now 3-2-1 after bolting out to a 3-0 start that had NFL analysts and fans alike believing this was the year the Bengals finally made it back to the Super Bowl. After 26 years, they would finally get their third chance to win the Lombardi Trophy, many believed.

But an arrhythmic, out-of-sync offense, a tired, inconsistent defense, and one missed field goal have combined to make the Bengals look like a shell of their former selves, and to put Who Dey Nation on alert. The masses weren't happy with Sunday's no-show performance by the offense, and they are roiling about what could be next this weekend when the Bengals host the Ravens.

Baltimore, 5-1 since losing to the Bengals in the season opener at M&T Bank Stadium, currently sits atop the AFC North. A win and the Bengals can reclaim their top spot, as well as control any possible late-season tiebreakers by sweeping the Ravens.

"As high as you were through the first three games and as low as you are through these last three, you have to be ready the next week to have your opportunity," Whitworth said. "If you are not ready then you are going to miss it, and you won't be around for long. This team has to find ways to get ready for this next opportunity, this next run. That's all this league is about. It's about going on runs, it's about making plays. We need to be prepared to do that."

Mid- and late-season runs have played key roles in the Bengals' three straight playoff appearances the past three seasons. In 2011, they won five in a row in October and early November. In 2012, they bounced back from four consecutive losses to win four straight. They ended that season going on a 7-1 run across November and December. Last season, respective four-game and three-game winning streaks powered the 11-5 finish.

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