Cincinnati’s nightmare start to 2024 continued on Monday night with a 38-33 home loss to the Washington Commanders.

“We didn’t see ourselves in this situation, but here we are,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said, via the Associated Press. “It’s a punch in the gut when you really feel good about the team and you start 0-3. But again, that’s where we are right now. We’ve got to find a way to win next Sunday and get things moving in the right direction.”

The loss, which saw Lou Anarumo’s defense dismantled, made history. Teams with more than four touchdowns, zero punts and zero turnovers in a game had a 26-0 record in the Super Bowl era through Monday. They are now 26-1, according to NFL Research.

Poor starts are nothing new for Cincy under Taylor. This was the third straight season the Bengals started 0-2, but they have avoided an 0-3 start in the past (0-2-1 in 2020). This year’s start is the club’s worst since 2019, the year before Joe Burrow arrived, when they went 0-11.

Cincinnati started hot with a deep drive from Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase for a 41-yard touchdown on the opening drive. However, a missed field goal, two more stalled drives and a defense that couldn’t get off the field put Burrow & Co. in a slump from which they would never fully recover.

“We had our chances and didn’t capitalize on them,” Burrow said. “We stalled on some of our attacks in the first half. That was the common denominator of these first three weeks.”

The Bengals started the season optimistically, with Burrow fully involved in offseason work for the first time. The offense was getting going, Tee Higgins was healthy and Chase was getting into form, but the club as a whole continues to play inconsistently.

On Monday night, Burrow completed 29 of 38 passes for 324 yards, three pass TDs and 0 INTs for a passer rating of 127.5. He became only the second QB in 2024 with over 300 passing yards and over 3 pass TDs in a game (Andy Dalton). Burrow is the only QB this season with over 100 passing attempts and 0 INTs.

Monday’s loss is a historic failure of the Bengals’ season. Since 1990, of the 162 teams that started 0-3, four have reached the postseason (2.5%), one has won its division (1.2%) and none have won the Super Bowl.

After the loss, reporters saw Burrow and Taylor go to the coach’s office instead of the locker room. The quarterback acknowledged the postgame discussion.

“It was a very positive conversation,” Burrow said. “We’re not happy with what we accomplished, but the season is far from over. I’m going to have to do some critical thinking to see what kind of leader I want to be going forward, whatever I think the team needs from me.”

History shows that the Bengals’ season hangs by a thread. But hey, at least there’s still a chance.