Bengals cornerback Adam Jones was quick to point fingers at kicker Mike Nugent in the wake of Sunday's wild tie against the Panthers.
After Nugent floated a 36-yard field goal wide right as the clock expired in overtime, Jones told reporters it was time for the struggling kicker to "perform and do your job."
While Nugent has tumbled off Pacman's Christmas card list, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis confirmed on Monday that the kicker's job is safe.
"We have a lot of confidence in Mike," Lewis said on The Coaches Show with NFL Media's Brian Billick. "He has a job to do that no one pays much attention until you gotta go kick the game-winning field goal, PAT, you're looking for a big kickoff.
"And when it doesn't come out on his side, everybody feels bad, but there were a lot of football plays offensively and defensively that impacted that football game way before the game-deciding kick could have happened."
Lewis is correct. The Bengals could have ended this affair with ease had Pacman and friends found a way to slow Cam Newton, the Panthers quarterback who carved up Cincy for 284 passing yards and a season-high 107 yards on the ground.
"We had chances to put the game away both on offense, both on defense," Lewis opined, "... and we failed to do it."
We recap all the Week 6 action on a jaunty edition of the "Around The NFL Podcast." Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
