There’s an old saying that claims that death and taxes are the only two things in life that are truly inevitable.  I disagree.  I have faithfully cheered for the Cincinnati Bengals for my entire life, or at least since being old enough to watch, play, and understand the sport.  While I do not consider myself a football “expert” by any stretch of the word, I do feel as though I am qualified to speak intelligently on the historical accomplishments and blunders of the Bengals.  I was there during the 1990’s, so I’m using the word “blunders” graciously!

So here is my list of ten things that you can count on to happen in every Cincinnati Bengals football game.

10.  A disproportionate amount of off-tackle running plays.

The Bengals are not known for their offensive creativity.  In a passing league, Marvin Lewis remains an “old school” smash mouth coach.  Expect to see Ben Jarvus Green Ellis go off-tackle for two yards over and over again.  Here’s hoping that the addition of Gio Bernard will change things in time.

9.  In nearly every game the Bengals are good for at least one turnover in critical situations.  For example, Andy Dalton threw an interception today against the Bills just outside the red zone.  In their season opener loss to the Bears, Mohammad Sanu fumbled inside the red zone resulting in the potential loss of much needed points.

8.  The Bengals defense will have their opponent on a 3rd and 17 only to allow an 18 yard pass for a first down to sustain a scoring drive.  Seen it more times than I can count.

7.  The Bengals opponent will get the ball near the end of the first half with a full field between they and the endzone.  Lax defense will allow the team to march 60-80 yards in less than 90 seconds to give up a throw away field goal or touchdown which almost always comes back to haunt them later.

6.  Not everything is negative in Bengal Land.  In every game you can count on the Bengals looking absolutely brilliant on a series or two.  This sounds like a positive but, in fact, it is a negative because we see what they have the potential to be if they could only overcome their inconsistency.

5.  The inability to smell blood in the water and put a team away.  It’s common for the Bengals to play well for 2-3 quarters and have their opponent on the ropes only to allow an amazing comeback that results in a dramatic Cincinnati loss.  (Please see both of the Bengals last minute Super Bowl losses as proof)

4.  That leads to me to my next point which is that the Bengals opponent will always make a run regardless of the score.  Even in games that they do win we often see them give away a big lead only to win a nail biter (see today’s victory in Buffalo as evidence.)

3.  The Bengals have the unique ability to make a rookie or untested veteran look like a Hall of Fame player.  Again, just visit today’s game in Buffalo.  Injuries forced the Bills to call a quarterback off the practice team earlier this week.  One would think that such inexperience would result in a blow-out win for the Bengals, but one would be wrong!

2.  The Bengals frequently play up or down to the level of their opponents.  Last week the Bengals played the Patriots well and notched a big win.  They played like a serious play-off caliber team.  Today against the Bills, and earlier in the season against the Browns, they played down to the level of two clearly inferior opponents.  In the process they lost to the Browns and nearly lost to the Bills.  Great teams always the games that they are supposed to win.

1.  And the number 1 thing that you can always count on during a Bengals game is asking yourself, “Why do I root for this team?”  It can be hard to be a Bengal fan and you can expect a great deal of second guessing of your allegiance to a team that more often than not leaves you scratching your head and asking, “Why?”

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