Bengals’ hold on division lead slipping after two straight losses

The Cincinnati Bengals got home shortly before sunrise and watched a little video of their latest loss, one that reminded them they’re missing more than just sleep.

The best start in franchise history has been followed by back-to-back losses that loosened their hold on the AFC North and left them at one of those turning points that come each season.

“The best football starts getting played now in November and December and January,” offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said on Monday. “You have to get hot. You have to catch your groove back again so that you can be one of those teams that can be hitting the stride at the right time.”

Two weeks ago, the Bengals (8-2) had a fourgame lead in the loss column over secondplace Pittsburgh. The back-to-back losses have given the Steelers (6-4) a chance to get back into the AFC North race. Pittsburgh is coming off a bye and has a game in Cincinnati on Dec. 13.

Cincinnati’s problems have come in all areas.

A defense that had given up the fewest points in the NFL got taken apart in the second half of a 34-31 loss at Arizona on Sunday night. Carson Palmer led a drive to the winning field goal in the final 58 seconds without a timeout.

The Bengals have been sloppy in the past two games. They had nine penalties for 70 yards during a 10-6 loss to the Texans, and 10 penalties for a season-high 108 yards in Arizona. And Andy Dalton has been sacked seven times in the past two games.

Manziel’s weekend

Johnny Manziel couldn’t make it through the Cleveland Browns’ bye week without being a distraction.

Manziel spent time partying in Texas and then hanging out at Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan State game. On Monday, a video surfaced of the second-year quarterback holding a bottle of champagne and singing rap lyrics in a DJ’s booth at a club in Austin, Texas.

Manziel spent part of Monday with teammates at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, boxing Thanksgiving meals for needy families. He said he had not seen the video making a stir on social media.

“This has been my main focus: getting back, getting prepared and then coming here for this,” he said. “So I haven’t seen anything or heard anything. I’ve been here for this event, and that’s really what I want to talk about, the things that are really important, not what I’m doing off the field.”