The Bengals’ placekicking competition that isn’t and why it matters

A bit of controversy was ignited on Saturday night when placekicker Jonathan Brown crushed a 55-yard field goal, putting the Bengals on the board with 12:01 remaining in the third.

The first-team offensive line with scattered first-team skill players struggled behind quarterback Jeff Driskel, who needed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by the Cowboys on third down to sustain an unsustainable drive. Cedric Ogbuehi, an untenable experiment that should end, unintentionally sabotaged Cincinnati’s efforts to score by allowing a quarterback sack while also being flagged for an offensive hold.

Despite all of that, Brown’s boom stick crushed a 55-yarder, which ignited a firestorm on social media…