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The Bengals' nightmare season found a new subplot on Sunday. With edge rusher Trey Hendrickson already done for the year after core muscle surgery and Cincinnati stumbling to 4-9, frustration around the franchise is only growing.
It has not gotten any better in real time, either: as of early in the third quarter, the Bengals are trailing the Ravens 14-0 at Paycor Stadium.
That stadium is at the center of a different controversy. NBC Sports' ProFootballTalk highlighted that the NFL's field-specifications manual explicitly requires home teams to remove snow and ice from "the seating bowl, aisles, pedestrian ramps, walkways, parking lots, etc." before kickoff, not just the field itself.
Photos from Paycor showed snow still covering large sections of the seats, prompting accusations that Cincinnati failed to follow those rules. When contacted by PFT, the Bengals pushed back, saying, "Seat aisles were prioritized and are in good shape. Seats are easily wiped off, and ushers are equipped to help there." Whether the league views that as sufficient compliance is an open question.
All of this comes against a backdrop of larger questions about the team's direction. Joe Burrow has bristled at how much he has to do just to keep Cincinnati competitive, and his recent comments about needing to "have fun doing this" sparked Andrew Luck –style retirement chatter before multiple reports from The Athletic emphasized that he remains fixated on winning, not walking away.
For now, though, the optics are brutal: a hurt roster, a frustrated franchise quarterback, and a home playoff atmosphere that literally was not cleared for fans.
Related: Bengals QB Joe Burrow not expected to follow Andrew Luck's footsteps and leave the NFL
