“If we don’t correct this,” cornerback Mike Hilton said, “it is going to get ugly.”
He was talking about the defense, but Hilton might just as easily have been talking about the whole of the Cincinnati Bengals’ effort in the loss to the Houston Texans Sunday afternoon.
Because it took an entire team effort to look that bad.
Cincinnati’s defense, which had been the hero of the past couple of victories, fell flat against the Texans in just about every area. Houston running back Devin Singletary shredded the Bengals’ defense for 150 yards on 30 carries, the most it has allowed on the ground since nose tackle DJ Reader joined the fray four years ago.