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CINCINNATI -- Three days after playing all 81 defensive snaps in Cincinnati's win over Green Bay, Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict leaned back in his locker, sighed, smiled and eventually admitted the long afternoon made him "exhausted."

He wasn't sure, but he reasoned those may have been the most snaps he played in a single day in his football-playing life.

As we pause and think back to exactly when it was the Bengals played the Packers -- Week 3 -- we realize that maybe it wasn't a good sign for one of the defense's top players to so openly admit to being physically drained and beat up so early in the season. Then again, snap counts don't really matter in pro football. If you experienced even just one or two of the mini car wrecks these guys go through every Sunday, you'd probably be exhausted days later, too.

All of that said, though, if there was a silver lining to Burfict's comment, it was that, on a day Who Dey Nation remembers primarily for its defense's stout late-game play, the key contributor left as much as he possibly could out on the field; even in the early Week 3.

Burfict and other linebakers still will be required to leave their trail of blood, sweat and tears on Paul Brown Stadium's synthetic surface the rest of the season, but Tuesday's news that Cincinnati signed veteran outside 'backer Michael Boley, should at least help them catch a few extra breaths in between snaps.

In Boley, a ninth-year player who has had his share of off-field drama, the Bengals have gotten a much-needed defensive lift. It's one they have been waiting on for quite some time, too. With his addition, they also get an experienced player who, like recently signed free agent safety Chris Crocker, already knows defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's scheme after having spent two years with him in Atlanta.

Without Boley, the Bengals were rotating Burfict, Rey Maualuga and safety Taylor Mays into a nickel linebacker's spot that called for occasional pass coverage and constant collisions with tight ends. Although Burfict stayed on the field for other linebacker duties, Maualuga and Mays transitioned on and off the field more often than him, in addition to shifting into other secondary responsibilities when the Bengals weren't in their Nickel defense. They primarily employ it when facing spread, multi-receiver/tight end offensive sets. Against teams that don't spread the ball as often, Cincinnati's three-man linebacker rotation gets added stability with James Harrison's more regular presence.

As injuries begin filling the Bengals' two-deep depth chart and the season continues trudging along, the team has realized its nickel defense can't float by with its now antiquated system for another 12 regular-season weeks. In Cleveland on Sunday for example, the Bengals had trouble getting Mays into some of the nickel responsibilities he had filled earlier in the year because he also had to play safety in place of injured safety Reggie Nelson. There hasn't yet been word on when Nelson's return might come, but Mays' obligations in filling his shoes makes the depth at the crucial outside linebacker position thin.

So, in an effort to make that depth a little stronger, the Bengals dipped into the free agent pool and snatched up Boley before anyone else could.

They've had their eye on him for a while, too. A month ago this week, Boley was brought to Cincinnati for a tryout as the Bengals looked to replace Emmanuel Lamur. The outside linebacker who shifted into the nickel linebacker responsibilities on certain downs was lost for the season after suffering an injury in the final preseason game. So committed was Cincinnati to filling Lamur's spot that it brought in former Bengals linebacker Thomas Howard and Tyrone McKenzie for a tryout in the very same week.

Once it became clear the Bengals weren't favoring signing either player, they decided to give the Mays experiment a shot, while also seeing how well Burfict and Maualuga could hold up as virtually every down players.

With the team staring at a 2-2 record and needing a few tweaks on the defense's back end, though, the Bengals decided tinkering time was over. Now, they forcefully said Tuesday, was the time to get the linebacker position shored up once and for all.

Boley brings to the linebacker corps a sizable defender who has the athleticism to play with receivers and tight ends, and the hands to give the Bengals a defensive spark from time-to-time. He had three interceptions and four deflected passes in 16 games for the New York Giants last season.

Don't look for Boley to be an every-down player for the Bengals, but do look for him to be the type of defender who gives the unit a much-needed lift. He'll learn Zimmer's Bengals scheme quickly and adapt to it even faster.

A weekly examination of the Bengals' ESPN.com Power Ranking:

Preseason: 9 | Last week: 6 | ESPN.com Power Ranking since 2002

Cincinnati's 17-6 loss to the Browns on Sunday sent it for a free fall in this week's ESPN.com Power Rankings. After shooting up four spots to No. 6 with a 34-30 win over Green Bay last week, the Bengals plummeted five spots following an offensive display at Cleveland that offensive coordinator Jay Gruden called "shocking."

Head coach Marvin Lewis said the way the game was lost indicated how inconsistent his team is. At times this season, the Bengals have looked unstoppable. On other occasions, like this past weekend, they have looked like the old version of themselves that so many NFL fans have come to know throughout the league's history. If this inconsistent play continues, expect this trend of seesawing in the Power Rankings to persist, too.

The No. 11 ranking is the lowest for the Bengals so far this season.

The Bengals received one top-10 vote from ESPN.com's six-person Power Rankings panel. Dan Graziano placed them ninth on his ballot. Ashley Fox and Kevin Seifert gave them a No. 15 ranking, the panel's lowest.

For the Bengals, Monday was all about picking up the pieces from Sunday's 17-6 loss at Cleveland by watching the game film, analyzing what went wrong and vowing to fix every little issue they saw.

Rest assured, they saw plenty.

Fixes in the rushing and passing games were most evident to offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, who admitted Monday that four weeks into the regular season, his scheme was still missing an identity. On defense, the fixes include being better on third down and not allowing teams like the Browns -- who entered Sunday's game ranked last in third-down conversions -- to rattle off an impressive 9-for-18 showing in those late-down scenarios. Even the coaches saw a fix or two to be made on their end, second-guessing whether timeouts should have been used to get out of particular plays at the line of scrimmage.

By the end of Tuesday, though, the time for fixing will be over. Preparation for the undefeated Patriots will begin in earnest, as the Bengals get ready for their Week 5 matchup at home against one of the NFL's hottest teams.

Before we start looking at the Patriots, let's take one last look back at the week that was (or wasn't, depending upon how you look at it) for the Bengals:

• Among the worst aspects to the Bengals' loss was the fact that their rushing game was rendered completely moot and ineffective. On 20 carries, paced by rookie Giovani Bernard's 10, Cincinnati rushed for just 63 yards. They didn't have any rushing scores. As Paul Dehner, Jr. from the Cincinnati Enquirer points out, after handing the ball off 13 times in the first half, the Bengals went to the ground just seven times in the second half. Gruden ultimately admitted that he may have become too infatuated with getting the ball to receiver A.J. Green, who caught seven passes, but who also was thrown to 14 times. Good coverage, overthrown passes and misread routes negated his opportunity to have many more receptions and add to his tame 51-yard showing. As the Bengals move forward, they'll need a run game resurrection.
• Where did you imagine the Bengals' offense would be four weeks into the regular season? Likely with an identity -- a lacking rushing game is a major reason why none currently exists -- and ranking somewhere much higher than 22nd place in total offense and scoring offense. Well, like it or not, as the Enquirer's Joe Reedy points out, that's exactly where the Bengals' offense is at this juncture of the year. Who's to blame for the Bengals' offensive misery? It's not just one or two people, Reedy writes. There's plenty of it to go around.
• Sticking with the offensive theme, here's the way Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson looked at the side of the ball. When it comes to showcasing the run, though, Hobson makes a good point. Perhaps this week the Bengals will be able to do a little of that with the Patriots being forced to slip a rookie, Joe Vellano, into Pro Bowl tackle Vince Wilfork's spot on the defensive line. Wilfork was lost for the year Sunday night after tearing his Achilles against the Falcons. The thing about Vellano, though, is that he might be an undrafted rookie, but he was a pretty good defender in college, consistently among Maryland's top tacklers while he played both the interior and edge there. He had 14 tackles for loss his senior year. He also sacked Matt Ryan in relief of Wilfork on Sunday.
• Speaking of the Patriots, if you'd like to catch your fill of Patriots coverage, be sure to check out the ESPN NFL Nation and ESPNBoston.com crew all this week. They have a blog post up that takes an early look at the Bengals.
• One more step back to last week. You may have heard the news, but early Monday, after evaluating tape from the surgery he performed on the Bengals, Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer was named Cleveland's starter for a third straight week. The division-rival Browns host Buffalo on Thursday night. Cincinnati travels to face a well-rested Bills team the week after.

CINCINNATI -- The questions were innocent and simple, but they required an honest and thoughtful answer.

After all, they were queries most Cincinnati Bengals fans had in the hours after the offensive scuffling that led the team to score two field goals in Sunday afternoon's 17-6 loss at the Cleveland Browns.

What is your identity on offense? Do you feel like you have one?

Without pause, Jay Gruden, the team's offensive coordinator, went straight into a reply. He hears you, Bengals fans. And he agrees with a lot of what many of you are saying.

"That's probably our biggest fault right now is that we're still trying to get one," Gruden said.

Bengals fans are most likely reading this and thanking Gruden for admitting what they consider the obvious. But they're also admonishing him for the fact that their team is lacking an offense four weeks into the season.

To them, Gruden says, take it easy. That identity is coming, and it'll be seen soon enough.

"We're working towards that," Gruden said. "We have to be balanced in what we do. I don't know if there is any team in the NFL that can just be a running team. Teams are throwing it a lot more. We have to do both effectively. We have to come up with a running game we can feel comfortable with and keep working with it."

One of Cincinnati's issues on offense this season -- the Bengals enter Sunday's Week 5 contest against New England ranking 22nd in total yards and 19th on scoring -- is inconsistent production from both its running and passing games. During the Week 2 win over Pittsburgh, the Bengals had their most complete and balanced offensive performance, rushing for 127 yards and passing for 280. They also had their greatest time of possession total in that game, holding onto the ball for 35:34. They haven't had the ball for more than 29 minutes in the other three games.

The Bengals' rushing inconsistencies are largely the product of playing with a deficit. Consistently down and consistently forced into long-yardage situations like they were Sunday, the Bengals have been forced into passing. As we have already discussed many times in recent weeks, quarterback Andy Dalton and his receivers have not been on the same page. When they are -- as Dalton's 277-yard, two-touchdown performance and A.J. Green's nine-catch, two-score effort in the Week 1 loss at Chicago indicated -- they actually look pretty good.

"We know we can play better," Gruden said. "I still feel like we have a great offensive group in my room. They're talented."

Head coach Marvin Lewis remains confident his identity-less offense will be correct and build toward the balance that Gruden seeks.

"After four games, there have been times we've played brilliantly and then we've hurt ourselves," Lewis said. "We have to eliminate the self-inflicted wounds that we get. ... If we can eliminate our errors and continue to win one-on-ones as we do most of the time, we'll be in good shape."

The way Gruden sees it, at this point, it all comes down to simple execution.

"The problem is right now, we aren't doing anything exceptionally well," he said. "We are not throwing the ball exceptionally well, we aren't running the ball exceptionally well. People say 'run the ball,' well, we will run the ball more when we get more than three yards.

"We got to do something good. We are a jack of all trades, master of none right now. We have to master something. We are good enough to be good and solid in the running game, and we are good enough to be very good in the passing game. We just have to go out and do it."

CINCINNATI -- From his vantage point on the Cincinnati Bengals' sideline, offensive coordinator Jay Gruden could see the carnage that was getting ready to ensue. He hoped his quarterback did, too.

Andy Dalton did, alright, but with the play clock ticking toward zero, he ran out of time to make the necessary line-of-scrimmage adjustment.

So, on a pivotal fourth-and-1 late in the second quarter of Sunday's game at Cleveland, instead of running for a first down, the Bengals "ran into a slaughter."

That was the way Gruden described to reporters Monday afternoon the sequence that resulted in running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis' two-yard loss on an important play that had originally been designed to gain two yards. As he took scribes through the play, Gruden came to an important conclusion: next time, someone, anyone, has to call timeout and get a new play put in place.

"Hindsight, running down on the clock, fourth-down-and-1 on such an important play, take a timeout," Gruden said. "That's on me more so than anybody, probably."

Little did the Bengals know at the moment Green-Ellis was laid out by two defenders that that would be the closest they would come to picking up a touchdown the rest of the afternoon. When the day ended, they had lost their second game of the season, this time by a 17-6 margin. With the six points coming off a pair of field goals, the loss marked the first time in three seasons that Cincinnati had not scored a touchdown in a game.

"For us to score six points anywhere against anybody is shocking, quite honestly," Gruden said. "It's something we have to fight out of."

On the play involving Green-Ellis, one that multiple players cited "miscommunication" as being the reason it didn't work, Gruden said a scenario presented itself in which the Browns' defense slipped a defender into a spot that was not accounted for by the Bengals before the snap. When that linebacker shifted down into place, it allowed the fateful "slaughter" scenario to take shape.

Gruden said Dalton saw the shifted defender and attempted to make a change at the line to account for blocking him and running around him. But the combination of a loud FirstEnergy Stadium crowd and a dwindling play clock made it impossible for the audible to be made.

Offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth put it this way: "half the people were thinking one play and the other half ... it was just a cluster, basically."

"Yeah, miscommunication, so to speak," Gruden said. "It was good defense by them. Clogged up the holes pretty good. We didn't get a lot of movement. It was not like we didn't have a play that couldn't work at all. We still had a chance to get the first down, but we didn't get any movement up front and ran into a slaughter."

The play came while the Bengals were on Cleveland's 7. Cincinnati had just driven 66 yards and was threatening to take the lead. At that point, the Browns were leading, 7-3.

Cincinnati went on to amass just 266 yards of total offense, 63 of which came on the ground. It was the third time this season the Bengals had been held to less than 100 yards rushing.

"Yeah, it's embarrassing," Gruden said of the offensive issues. "You put a lot of work in your gameplan, a lot of work into practice, and we have a very talented team. For us to go out there and lay an egg like we did, it's not a good feeling. Hopefully it's motivation for us more than embarrassing. Hopefully it doesn't happen again. It can't happen again."

CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis felt there were two numbers from his team's 17-6 loss at Cleveland on Sunday that mattered more than any others: third-down offensive and defensive conversions.

"Those are things we've got to do better," he said.

A season-worst 28.6 percent showing on offensive third-down conversions, and a season-high 50 percent showing on defensive third-down conversions would indicate corrections need to come for both sides of the ball, and swiftly.

In addition to those figures, other numbers indicate the Bengals are in need of a few more tweaks before Sunday's game against the New England Patriots. Let's take this by-the-numbers look at the loss:

2: Red zone scores for the Browns. Both came in goal-line scenarios.

9: Third downs the Browns converted on offense. They were 9-for-18 in those situations.

4: Third downs the Bengals converted on offense. They were 4-for-14 in those situations.

10: Team-high number of carries for Bengals rookie running back Giovani Bernard, who rushed for just 37 yards.

50: Snaps Bernard had Sunday, according to ProFootballFocus.com. Fellow running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis had 18.

0: Touchdowns for the Bengals. It was the first time since last January's first-round playoff defeat at Houston that the Bengals hadn't scored an offensive touchdown.

58.2: Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton's season-low passer rating against the Browns.

29.7: Dalton's season-low QBR rating.

38.5: Dalton's passing percentage (5-for-13) against the blitz Sunday. He threw for 58 yards in those situations, according to PFF.com.

18: Consecutive games since Cincinnati's defense allowed a 300-yard passer. The Bengals extended that league-best streak by allowing just 247 yards passing Sunday.

4.9: Bengals' season-low yards per passing attempt.

17: Receptions Bengals receiver A.J. Green has since his nine-catch performance against Chicago in Week 1.

37: Times Green has been targeted in the three games since that nine-catch game. He was targeted 13 times in the opener.

45.9: Percentage of balls Green has caught that have been thrown his direction in the past three games.

1: Catches Green had on the eight passes of 10 yards or more that were thrown his way, according to PFF.com.

14: Game-high tackles for Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

3: Sacks by Cincinnati's defense. Defensive end Carlos Dunlap and defensive tackle Geno Atkins had 1.5 each.

An examination of four hot issues from the Bengals' 17-6 loss to the Browns:

1. Paging A.J. Green. Cincinnati has made a concerted effort to get the ball to receiver A.J. Green this season, targeting him 50 times through just four games. The success rate in actually getting the ball in his hands hasn't been very high, though. Of those 50 times he has been thrown to, Green has caught just 26 passes. In his past three games, the third-year wideout has caught just 17 of the 37 balls that quarterback Andy Dalton has sent his way. During Sunday's game, the pair connected on half of the 14 passing attempts that were directed toward Green. On multiple occasions, though, passes were either overthrown, underthrown or thrown into a space that Green didn't cut into. In order to get Cincinnati's offense rolling again, these two have to get back on the same page.

2. Still going to Gio. Rookie running back Giovani Bernard is another offensive player the Bengals are trying to get the ball to. Ever since his two-touchdown performance in his unofficial coming-out party during the Week 2 win over Pittsburgh, Bernard has been a fan (and fantasy fan) favorite. His speed makes him a threat to make plays in space and pick up large chunks of yards off short screen passes. Although Bernard wasn't able to get in the end zone Sunday in Cleveland, the Bengals' promise of putting him in more positions to make plays has taken shape. After having just five touches in Week 1, Bernard's role has steadily increased. He had nine touches in Week 2, 14 in Week 3 and 16 on Sunday. Against the Browns, Bernard's 6.3 yards per reception was his lowest single-game total this year.

3. Third-down difficulties. The Bengals couldn't seem to stay on the field long enough offensively, and couldn't kick the Browns off it defensively. In both phases the Bengals' third-down conversion ratings were the worst they have been all season. On offense, they converted just four of their 14 third-down opportunities (28.6 percent). On defense, they allowed the Browns to convert 9 of 18 opportunities (50 percent). All season, the offensive third-down conversion rating has trended negatively. After starting at 63.6 percent in the opener, Cincinnati has been less and less successful across the past three weeks. Before Sunday, the offense's third-down conversion percentage against the Packers (36.4 percent) had been the lowest. "At the end of the day, the tale of the tape would be third-down conversions," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "Those are things we've got to do better."

4. Crocker feels fine. Cincinnati hopes to get a little healthier this week when undefeated New England comes to town. Against the Browns, the Bengals were down three defensive backs, including veterans Leon Hall and Reggie Nelson. They hope the pair can heal from hamstring injuries this week. If not, safety Chris Crocker, who was re-signed last week and relieved both players at times on Sunday, feels confident that he can go out again if needed. After his first game since the 2012 regular-season finale, Crocker said his "conditioning was pretty good, and each week I'll be better."

CINCINNATI -- Marvin Lewis was right.

Like a sort of seer, the Bengals head coach prophetically proclaimed on ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike" early Friday morning that there was just one thing he really needed to see from his entire team. If he saw it on offense, defense and special teams, he'd have a great feeling about where it was heading the rest of the year.

He wanted to see consistency.

"We've got to be consistent on offense, particularly in who we're on in the running game and protections and so forth," Lewis said. "That's got to be important as we move forward. And if you flip it over to the defensive side of the ball, we have to just be consistent tacklers. This game comes down each and every Sunday to who tackles the best defensively."

Although they had a missed tackle or two, the Bengals were fairly consistent on defense Sunday afternoon in their 17-6 loss at Cleveland. Except for a fourth-quarter touchdown that capped a 12-play, nearly seven-minute, 91-yard drive, the unit mostly held its own. For a second straight game, the unit held an offense to fewer than 340 yards, and for the 18th straight game, it prevented a quarterback from hitting the 300-yard passing mark.

For the most part, the defensive consistency was there.

On offense, though, it was lacking. Three weeks after quarterback Andy Dalton posted a 78.8 percent completion rating and two weeks after the Bengals passed for 280 yards for a second consecutive game, they could barely move the ball against the Browns. In passing for a mild 206 yards, Dalton also didn't lead his offense into the end zone for the first time since January's first-round playoff loss at Houston.

Part of the problem Sunday was that Dalton's go-to receiver, fellow third-year star A.J. Green, managed to catch seven balls for just 51 yards. He was targeted 14 times by Dalton. Several of the incompletions were either overthrown, underthrown or completely missed the receiver because of improper communication between he and his quarterback.

For an offense that has shown flashes of brilliance and occasional bouts with mediocrity, the fact that it looked downright pitiful Sunday was a surprise to Green.

"Yeah, it's very shocking because I feel like we have all the pieces to be a great team," Green said. "We are not playing on a consistent basis. Even the games we won we are not playing on a consistent basis. To be a great team, you got to be able to come in week in and week out and play great. We are not doing that right now."

Green was quick to point out that even in last week's win over Green Bay, the Bengals struggled to keep the ball off the ground and out of the Packers' hands.

"We had all those turnovers," he said, referencing the five balls they lost. "All that is going to catch up with you in the long run."

Turnovers may not have been the offense's issue this week, but third-down conversions certainly were. As they operated at a 28 percent (4-for-14) clip, the Bengals' offense had trouble extending drives and giving itself better opportunities to score. On fourth downs, they converted one of the three attempts, but didn't on arguably two of the most critical final-down chances.

According to Lewis, the lack of late-down conversions made it appear Cincinnati's offense was disjointed, out of sync and lacking the type of fluidity that might make it more consistent.

"You get out of sync when you don't convert third downs," he said. "We had third downs that were both manageable and we couldn't convert them. That means at the end of the day that you don't get the opportunity to run it as much as you'd like and keep your offense on the field and your defense off the field."

Cleveland had the advantage in rushing offense (89 yards to 63) and time of possession (31:09 to 28:51). The Bengals ran the ball 20 times, but often that was out of short-yardage need that they had trouble converting.

So, what's the best fix to lacking consistency? Is it playing with a heightened or increased focus?

"No. It's not a focus thing at all," veteran offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said. "Offensively, we've got to figure it out. You have to make plays in big moments. You have to come up with a play to win the game."

On both sides of the ball, they got those plays in last week's win over the Packers. They definitely will need them this weekend when the Patriots come to town.

"When it comes down to it, we've got to be better," Dalton said. "We want to be consistent, but we just haven't gotten it done for whatever reason. For us, we've got to look at the tape and we can't let this one hurt us next week. We've got to move on."

The last two mornings after Bengals games have been a little more cheerful for the Who Dey Nation than this one likely will end up being, but the good thing for Cincinnati is that it has been here before, and found a way to recover from days like this.

Specifically, this year's Bengals have already been on the losing end of a contest they had numerous chances to win. It's the exact spot they were in Sunday afternoon, when, as long as they could, their defense kept them in the AFC North showdown against the in-state rival Browns. Their offense, on the other hand, tried as it might, couldn't come away with the crucial score when it needed it the most.

The Bengals know that if they are to reverse course and find their way well into the playoffs come this January, they will have to stumble into the end zone multiple times each ballgame.

As we take a look at Monday's Morning Stripes, keep in mind the following comment on the Bengals' offense -- which totaled just 266 yards -- from left offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth:

"We didn't play well. It wasn't really a letting down thing. ... It wasn't a team out here who didn't care. We just didn't execute. Any time you have situations where you have a couple of plays where nobody knows what to do because of miscommunications and then you have a fumbled snap, you can't win. We blew it in critical situations. I don't think that was a letdown thing. Honestly, it was just us having a bad day."

Those will come, but they'll need a good one Sunday when the New England Patriots come to town.

• The Morning Stripes kick off with this look at the Bengals' offensive woes from Geoff Hobson, who writes for the team website. Within this posting, you'll see that quarterback Andy Dalton, despite airing it out 42 times, picked up only 206 yards passing and notched a passer rating below 60 percent. Receiver A.J. Green, who was blanketed all afternoon by Cleveland cornerback Joe Haden, caught seven passes, but was targeted 14 times. Green also couldn't get more than 51 yards from his receptions. Cincinnati's rushing game totaled just 63 yards, too. That's not exactly a winning formula.
• The Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Daugherty writes about the "Any Given Sunday" nature of the NFL and how the Bengals got caught up in it this past weekend. A week before, they were flying high with a tough, physical, well-earned win over the Green Bay Packers. They were looking like the division's best team with a game coming up that on paper they were supposed to win. But with Sunday's unexpected loss to Cleveland, Cincinnati will have to hit another peak on its schedule next weekend when the always strong and still undefeated Patriots come to Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals can ill afford to have many more low points like Sunday.
• One of the keys to the game for Cleveland, as the Enquirer's Paul Dehner, Jr. points out, is that the Browns were able to win the third-down battle. The Bengals seemingly weren't able to convert third downs on offense, and their defense at times couldn't find a way to get stops when those situations arose while it was on the field. In that sense, it was the perfect recipe for a loss. Offensively in particular, the proliferation of third downs was a product of penalties and negative plays on first and second downs.

Don't worry, Bengals fans. The sun came up Monday morning. All, in this season, is not lost.

CLEVELAND -- In the world of social media GMs and fantasy football owners, Andy Dalton was benched, traded and released thousands of times Sunday afternoon, all before the real-life version stepped off the plane at home in Cincinnati.

The multitude of fictitious transactions were knee-jerk responses to an outing that even Dalton admitted was among the worst of his career.

"It's one of them," the Cincinnati Bengals' third-year starting quarterback said, minutes after his team lost on the road 17-6 to division rival Cleveland.

For the first time all season, Dalton passed for fewer than 230 yards. In fact, he barely crossed the 200-yard plateau, picking up just enough yards on his final drive to settle at 206. The loss also marked the first time since January's first-round playoff defeat at Houston that he hadn't led a touchdown drive.

It's not like the opportunities for the Bengals to score didn't present themselves. They were there and they just didn't materialize. Much the same way the Bengals' Super Bowl hopes won't be materializing if their offense keeps sputtering.

"We had a lot of chances and we didn't take advantage of them," Dalton said. "That's the thing that's frustrating. We have all the ability in the world on this team and we just didn't get it done."

Since getting drafted 35th overall in 2011, Dalton has been considered among the most able-bodied players on a team that's chock-full of talent. With a career passer rating in the mid-80s and 12 more passing touchdowns than the average NFL quarterback has had in the past three seasons, he has proven himself to be a worthy member of the NFL's signal-calling club.

But, as the social media GMs and fantasy owners are quick to point out, he hasn't done anything to yet make himself considered among the league's passing elite.

There's one way to fix that: Be an elite passer.

"I've got to be better, I've got to put this team in a better position to win this game," Dalton said. "I didn't get that done [Sunday]."

If Cincinnati's offense is to become the well-oiled machine it appeared to turn into after Week 2's win over Pittsburgh, it will need Dalton to propel his game to the level he knows he can.

That's right. He's the big fix to the Bengals' offensive woes. That fix won't come in benching him for talented backup Josh Johnson. It won't come in requesting owner Mike Brown meet Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman's reported trade wishes. It won't come in conjuring out of thin air an unnecessary quarterback controversy.

It will come, quite simply, with better play from Dalton.

Even though Cincinnati also lost during its season opener at Chicago, the Bengals quarterback was much better that day. He completed 78.8 percent of his passes and threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns. Aside from his two interceptions, it could be argued it was his best outing of the season. Even though the Bengals defense played a key role in the loss, take one of Dalton's interceptions out of the equation and Cincinnati probably would have won that game.

Forget the defense this time around, though. Sunday's defeat fell at the feet of the Bengals' offense.

"This is not a defensive issue. The defense came to play," Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said. "We couldn't figure out a way to get in the end zone and they (the Browns) finally found a way. They call it a team game, but the truth is, offensively, we're not playing well."

After passing for 280 yards or more through the first two weeks of the season, Dalton posted just 235 yards last week in a turnover-filled game. The Bengals were fortunate to catch a couple breaks defensively, and a glimmer of Good Dalton showed up on an otherwise bad day. When the Bengals needed their offense the most, they got it. A short screen to running back Giovani Bernard turned into a 31-yard reception. The play jump-started a 95-yard drive that resulted in one of Cincinnati's final scores ahead of the eventual 34-30 win over the Packers.

When the Bengals needed a similar spark against the Browns, they couldn't get it. They had dropped passes, overthrown routes, underthrown routes and an uncommon general arrhythmia.

"It got real loud and we had a play where we had a couple options and it just seemed like a lack of communication," Whitworth said.

On that play, the Bengals were in goal line territory on a second-quarter fourth-and-1.

When the Bengals came to the line, some of them noticed a Browns linebacker drop into the A-gap. Cleveland was clearly expecting a run. Not all of the Bengals saw him.

"Half the people were thinking one play and the other half ... it was just a cluster, basically," Whitworth said.

Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who ended up getting handed the ball and driven back two yards, said an audible may have been necessary.

"We just had to get another player [on the linebacker] or hopefully we can get another play called or get a timeout or whatever," Green-Ellis said.

The quarterback has to not only see that possible switch, but he also has to check his team into a different play and be authoritative enough that his teammates hear him. For whatever reason, that didn't happen. Instead, the Bengals were stuffed.

Cincinnati didn't get that close to the end zone the rest of the game.

One of the players who Dalton seemed most out of sync with Sunday, receiver A.J. Green, sounded confident his quarterback will bounce back. In order for that to happen, Green, who had nine catches out of 13 chances in the opener and 17 out of 38 tries since, will have to allow consistently showcase his talent.

"The plays are there. We just got to connect," Green said. "Whether it's me digging more, him putting the ball in a better spot. It's both of us.

"All I can do is continue to work and continue to work with Andy and hope we get better together."

As Bengals fans take a deep breath and back away from their computer screens, they're hoping that happens. Deep down, they know Dalton is their best offensive fix. A better Dalton makes a better Green. A better Dalton and Green makes a better Bengals team.

CLEVELAND -- Observed in the locker room after the Cincinnati Bengals' 17-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

"Embarrassing": This was the word used most often by Bengals veterans immediately after Sunday's loss. Defensive tackle Domata Peko compared it to the opening-weekend loss at Chicago. Here's how Pro Bowl offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth put it: "Being a leader and an older guy and all those things, it's embarrassing. It can't happen again, and we've got to find a way to correct it, and we have the ability and talent that it should never happen."

Second-guess?Whitworth was among those who suggested the Bengals may have needed to change their play call at the line during an early fourth-and-1. Down 7-3 with the ball on Cleveland's 1 halfway through the second quarter, the Bengals went for the first down. They didn't convert when BenJarvus Green-Ellis was hit behind the line of scrimmage. "We just have to do a better job of getting ourselves in a better play and executing," Green-Ellis said.

Last to dress: The loss hit some defensive players hard. Defensive end Michael Johnson was the last player still in uniform when reporters left the locker room. Only seven other players, all but three defensive players, were still changing.

CLEVELAND -- A few thoughts on the Cleveland Browns' 17-6 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

What it means: The Browns' win means we all of a sudden have a three-team race in the AFC North. While Pittsburgh continues its difficult slide to start the season, Cincinnati's loss triggered a race that now includes Cleveland and Baltimore. The Browns, a team the entire sports media universe was willing to write off two weeks ago, suddenly has a chance to really compete for the postseason. The Bengals are in need of some serious offensive help if they want to keep their Super Bowl hopes alive.

Dark hour for Dalton: Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has had his share of successes in the three years he has worn a Bengals uniform, but he also has compiled his share of moments to remember for vastly different reasons. Sunday afternoon, he had one of the latter. After throwing at least one touchdown in each of his first three starts this season, he didn't have one. He also threw for only 206 yards. The problem, it seemed, was that he never looked comfortable at any point in the game. He and his receivers appeared to be on different pages. Once, in the second half, Dalton threw a comeback route to A.J. Green, who was sprinting downfield on a straight fly route. Other times, his throws were too high, too low or too far behind his receivers.

Hoyer homecoming: Dalton might have had a day to forget, but hometown kid and Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer will remember it for the rest of his life. Not only was the Cleveland native making his first professional start in the stadium where he attended games as a teenager, but he had the type of showing that made Browns fans believe he could be their starting quarterback for the long haul. Hoyer replaced Brandon Weeden two weeks ago and looks to continue starting after passing for 269 yards and two touchdowns.

Penalty problem: The only real issue the Browns had Sunday was their apparent penchant for penalties. They had five in the game for 80 yards. Two of the penalties that came in what appeared to be pivotal situations in the second and third quarters were called on defensive back Buster Skrine. He made up for them, but the Browns will want to clean those up as they move forward.

Stock watch: In the wake of the Trent Richardson trade and their decision to name Hoyer the starting quarterback, the Browns have been dominating headlines because of their offense. After the defense's performance in Sunday's win, it deserves some attention, too. The unit entered the game ranked third in the NFL in sacks with 12 and continued the pressure against Dalton. The Browns sacked him twice and held the Bengals to a season-low 266 yards of total offense. Despite being called for two penalties in the second and third quarters, Skrine had an otherwise strong performance, intercepting a pass and breaking up three more. D'Qwell Jackson led the Browns with 10 tackles.

What's next: Cincinnati (2-2) will have one of its biggest conference games of the season next Sunday when New England makes a trip to Paul Brown Stadium. The Browns (2-2) look to build upon their momentum when they host Buffalo on Thursday night in the second game of a three-game homestand.

CLEVELAND -- Cincinnati Bengals right guard Kevin Zeitler left Sunday afternoon's game with a foot injury that occurred in the second quarter, according to team officials. His return is questionable.

In an effort to fill the gap left by his departure, the Bengals moved left guard Clint Boling over to the right guard position and shifted left tackle Andrew Whitworth to left guard. Backup left tackle Anthony Collins entered the game to play at Whitworth's old spot.

At the time Zeitler's injury occurred, Cincinnati had passed for 68 yards and rushed for 46. It also trailed 7-3.

Update: On Cincinnati's second drive of the third quarter -- at the 9:32 mark -- Zeitler ended up returning to the game. When he did, the offensive line went back to its normal setup that featured Whitworth at left tackle and Boling at left guard.