Reuters

Bengals running back Giovani Bernard, the first running back taken in the 2013 draft, has plenty of things to be happy about. He has three touchdowns in three games, and he’s playing for a team that looks to be destined to return to the playoffs for the third straight year.

But Bernard has one minor gripe. And it relates to his belief that fans at Paul Brown Stadium were heading for the exits when the home team’s 14-0 lead became a 30-14 deficit.

“Well the fans are doing a great job,” Bernard told PFT Live on Tuesday. “I mean, just being there and just supporting us, whether we’re losing or not, they’ve done a really good job. But I was a little bit disappointed this past game where I saw some fans leave. I was looking into the stands and saw some fans leaving once we kind of got down to the 30-14 range, and it was a little upsetting. Then once we kind of got closer, once Terrence Newman scored that touchdown, you could see those seats started to fill up a little bit.

“So I don’t know if they went to get a drink or had to use the bathroom during that time, or whatever it was, but I started to see those empty seats pile up. I’m not going to say they left, but we’ll see.”

We likely won’t see many fans leave any Bengals games early for the rest of this year.

To see (and, more accurately, to hear) everything Bernard had to say, click the box below.