Let one side tell it, the Cincinnati Bengals weren’t too upset after a 29-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

The Bengals have lost 7-of-8 against the Steelers. The Week 7 loss, in particular, stung because it dropped the Bengals to 2-4 and well out of the AFC North race.

But according to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Paul Zeise, who was in the locker room after the game, the Bengals locker room wasn’t exactly what he expected to find given the circumstances.

“There were players laughing, joking and having a good old time in this locker room after the game. The star linebacker had many jokes and told them loudly to the delight of some of his teammates and they laughed and joked right back at him,” Zeise wrote.

Maybe other members of the media would find the nature of the Bengals’ locker room after such a loss commonplace. But with a coach on the final year of his deal and the magnitude of yet another loss to the defending AFC North champion Steelers, it seemed odd to at least one person in attendance.

Zeise followed up with a telling point: “This is a small snapshot, I get it, but it is an important one as it gives a lot of insight into the culture of the Bengals under Marvin Lewis.”

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Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer also noted the mood of the locker room and suggested players caring isn’t necessarily an issue, but he also wrote that “when you lose a lot, dealing with defeat becomes easier.”

The game itself was an oddity. We’ve documented Lewis’ odd lack of use of rookie running back Joe Mixon, who wound up speaking out on the topic.

Mixon speaking out against his coaches reeks of when A.J. Green did the same after Week 2, and the front office fired offensive coordinator Ken Zampese. Keep in mind this latest dud came after a bye week, and the coaching staff failed to adapt at halftime:

Bengals score no points, no catches for A.J. Green and no carries for Joe Mixon in the second half with the season on the line. Ok. — Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) October 22, 2017

Otherwise, the general postgame comments from Lewis and players were business as usual, other than Lewis seemingly walking off a bit earlier than expected.

Andy Dalton and the team spent the week leading up to the game trying to classify it as just another game. He did in the postgame presser after the loss as well: “The Steelers are just one team. They are in our division. They aren’t the only team that we play. ”

There’s a merit to the approach, though it’s still jarring to think the team wasn’t angrier about getting thrown around by a rival once again — especially with the season seemingly on the line. Remaining level-headed and lighthearted in the face of pressure is fine and something the Bengals have had problems doing in the past, but there’s a time and place.

This atop a loss that would’ve put Lewis in the national crosshairs moves the needle even further toward the idea the Bengals are headed toward an offseason of dramatic change.