Bengals bungled

The glass-half-full people say the Bengals were thrown for a loop when Carson Palmer's knee got a little too up close and personal with the full weight of Kimo von Oelhoffen's body on the second snap of Sunday's game.
The glass-half-empty people say "Thanks for the memories. See you again in 2020."
It's hard not to believe in bad luck, hexes, curses and all other sorts of voodoo after watching the Bengals crash and burn in their first playoff game in 15 years, losing 31-17 to the Steelers in a game that probably wasn't even that close.
Palmer's torn knee ligament on the back end of a 66-yard completion probably started Cincinnati's slide, as Jon Kitna had to come in off the bench ice cold. But it can't account for a botched field goal snap, an injury to Chris Perry, and the Bengals basically getting run out ot their own stadium.
Cincinnati is learning what Cleveland has known for a long time: reversing a losing culture and the accompanying self-pity of the fans is a difficult process. Even when teams in Cleveland are good, fans hide behind their jacket collars in terror, waiting for the injury, defection or freak play that makes it all fall apart.
Teams feed on that. If you are scared to the tune of 20,000 or 40,000 or 75,000 strong, the players start to play tight.
My unproven hypothesis says that probably happened to some degree in Cincinnati, when the mood of the fans took a palpable turn from celebratory to stricken as soon as Palmer hit the turf.
The fans were certainly justified in feeling that way, but it added fuel to the fire that consumed the Bengals yesterday.
Even in the NFL, it is hard for a team that has been in the doldrums for 15 years to magically turn the corner to Super Bowl contender. The Bengals have trudged through a pair of 8-8 seasons before arriving with a division title and an 11-5 record this year. Not that it matters to most Bengal fans now, who have to wait until late July for next season to start.
We in Cleveland have the Bengals in basketball sneakers.
We have been waiting for LeBron James to deliver the Cavaliers to powerhouse status, but instead have been greeted with two seasons of nearly missing the playoffs, due mostly to LeBron's lack of a supporting cast. Now, much like the Bengals this season, the Cavaliers have a deeper team and appear headed for the playoffs
Rising a dreg from the ashes takes a lot of right decisions by the front office and coaches, and sooner or later, a commitment of large sums of money from the owner. That process can take years of trial and error to play out.
A game like Sunday's for the Bengals isn't necessarily indicative of overall failure, just as last spring's collpase by the Cavs isn't necessarily. Much like the Cavs last spring, the Bengals are a work in progress. They obviously need help on the defensive side of the ball.
Sunday's loss gives the Bengals a measureing stick to see where they are, both talent-wise and in terms of mental toughness. They are advancing in the former, but might need work in the latter. A few years of being in the playoffs should help that, as with the Cavs.
Having said that, I'm hoping the Cavs do a little better in the playoffs than the Bengals just did.