It's dj vu all over again for Cincinnati.Four years. Four straight first-round playoff defeats for the star-cro sed .Sunday's to the raises plenty of the same questions that have haunted quarterback and coach since joining forces in 2011. offensive coordinator came out of the gate with an admirable, creative game plan to help mask the absence of wideout and tight end . Minus his top two pa s-catchers, Jackson leaned on a rash of extra linemen and unbalanced sets to fortify rookie and the ground game.The plan worked beautifully on a nine-play, 74-yard touchdown march in the first quarter that tied the score at seven. The saw early production from a swath of unexpected contributors, with running back Greg Holland Jersey making plays in a -type role, defensive lineman lining up at fullback and backup guard seeing snaps as an extra lineman to counter Indy's active front.The problem with the , though, remains unchanged. When it came down to Dalton lifting the offense out of dark corners, his arm failed them. Without Green to bail him out on pa sing downs, Dalton struggled to make the same clutch throws we saw complete all afternoon. Cincy opened the second half with five straight punts, holding to the script of a Lewis-coached squad that has in the second half of their last four playoff games.It wasn't just Dalton. While the secondary made its share of plays, this effort felt doomed when it became obvious the couldn't generate a hint of pa s rush on Luck. The saw the same, quickly abandoning the run to help Luck throw for 376 yards on 44 attempts. Luck would have piled up even more had not dropped a trio of first-half pa ses. The star wideout still finished with 103 yards on the day.The can point to an injury-ravaged roster to explain their latest postseason collapse, but that would dance around the i sue. Dalton on Sunday tied an NFL record for the most consecutive playoff lo ses by a quarterback to start his career. He joins Y.A. Tittle in that department, but their on-field comparisons end there.Where Luck and the league's better signal-callers will their teams to victory, Dalton's ceiling keeps the on the outside looking in.It's hard to justify signing up for another year of the same.The "Around The NFL Podcast" is available for download on iTunes! to listen and subscribe. Bryan Shaw Jersey