The Cincinnati Bengals had a big win in hand in overtime against the Baltimore Ravens when Lamar Jackson missed a snap and fumbled it. Germaine Pratt grabbed the net, and the Bengals, needing only a field goal, were positioned to win their first division game of the 2024 season.

The Bengals ran the ball three times in a row and only gained one yard. When Evan McPherson came out to win the game, disaster struck. Freshman Ryan Rehkow, who was serving as holder, dropped the ball as he was about to put it on the turf. McPherson's foot hit him from a wrong angle and the kick went wide to the left.

A few plays later, Justin Tucker sent the ball through the uprights, winning the game 41-38 and officially putting the Bengals' playoff hopes on life support.

The real issue here isn't the botched handle, but head coach Zac Taylor's decision to be so conservative even though Joe Burrow has already thrown five touchdown passes and he has the best wide receiver duo in the NFL.

The decision to settle for a field goal created a situation where a rookie was literally asked to put the game in his hands.

Taylor defended himself after the game and said he believed in his kicker.

“When you're in field goal range and you believe in your kicker, it's really that easy,” Taylor said.

He also went on to say that his first down play call was actually a pass and quarterback Joe Burrow checked for the run play.

“We feel like we’re in field goal range. We've thrown the ball in this situation before. We call the pass…Joe actually did a great job of getting us back on the run because the look wasn't there to throw it. And so there was good management from him. We got a few more yards and then we were able to win with a field goal and we thought we were going to win it with that.”

No, they didn't get “a few yards out,” and if the play call was a pass, I'd like to see it on the board. The formation that came to the line of scrimmage had no receivers on the perimeter and the offense faced a loaded box. If the Bengals were planning on folding with just one of their top targets on the field, fans would certainly like to know why.

Burrow had completed 30/39 passes (an astounding 77% completion rate) for 392 yards and five touchdowns at this point in the game. His only interception came on a bounced slant pass intended for Chase, for which the wide receiver even took the blame, saying he ran a bad route after the play.

They paid Burrow all the money and, with everything on the line, decided to take on the NFL's best run defense three times. Why not put the ball in the hands of a quarterback who is having an MVP-caliber season so far despite the team's 1-4 record?

The offense has made its mistakes and most teams can't expect to win a game if they allow 41 points. But when an absolute gift fell into Taylor's hands at the end of the day, he decided to take the ball out of the hands of his best player.

This loss is on him.