Cincinnati Bengals avoid disaster, but problems persist for Joe Burrow, offense | Williams
Defense may have saved the Cincinnati Bengals’ season.
Take nothing away from coordinator Lou Anarumo’s guys, who willed the Bengals to a 19-16 win against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night at Paycor Stadium.
The Bengals have their first win of the season. Who Dey, baby!
They barely avoided an 0-3 start, which is essentially a playoff death sentence. Who cares, baby! You take it.
Joe Burrow’s calf held up and he played the whole game. Who dey think gonna beat them Bengals, baby?
A lot of teams.
You want a Super Bowl championship, right, Cincinnati? Then you shouldn’t be too satisfied after that snoozer.
Look at the big picture. The Rams aren’t very good. And neither is the Bengals’ supposedly explosive offense, which upgraded to disappointing from dreadful in the first two weeks of the season. You should still be concerned about Burrow’s leg, because he said so. There could be more will-he-or-won’t-he-play drama leading up to Sunday’s game on the road against the Tennessee Titans.
“We didn’t have any setbacks today, but still day-to-day,” Burrow said. “I’ve learned through this process that you can have one at any time.”
ESPN's Chris Fowler: 'How come Logan Wilson always finds the football?'
Cincinnati Bengals' offense lacking in victory
The Bengals scored one offensive touchdown, a 14-yard run by Joe Mixon late in the third quarter. It gave Cincinnati its first lead of the season. You’re thinking maybe it’d be the jolt the Bengals needed.
But Burrow threw an interception as the Bengals were marching toward the red zone early in the fourth quarter. The offense had a three-and-out late in the fourth quarter. The Bengals had a delay-of-game penalty and lost four yards on the drive before punting.
It set up a late touchdown-scoring drive for the Rams, who were an onside-kick recovery away from potentially putting the Bengals’ season on the brink.
Where do the Bengals stand going forward?
One offensive touchdown – which is what the Bengals are averaging per game – isn’t going to beat the elite teams in the league. Burrow overthrowing passes to the sideline, Tee Higgins dropping balls that hit him in the hands and drive-killing false-start penalties aren’t going to get it done against San Francisco, Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore and other contending teams left on the schedule.
The Bengals face what was supposed to be a tough Titans defense after a short week − though Tennessee gave up 27 points to a beleaguered Browns offense in Sunday's loss in Cleveland.
“We’ve got to be better in all facets of the offense,” Burrow said.
It wasn’t all bad. Ja’Marr Chase said last week he wanted the ball, and coach Zac Taylor heard him. Chase caught 12 passes for 141 yards. Burrow threw 15 passes Chase’s way. Burrow-to-Chase has to keep clicking from here on out in order for the Bengals to have a snowball’s chance of living up to their Super Bowl expectations.
The Bengals don’t have a strong enough running game to carry them against the contending teams. Their offense is Burrow-to-Chase. And maybe they’ve found their footing on defense after allowing nearly 400 yards rushing in the first two games. The Bengals sacked aging Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford six times and intercepted two of his passes.
Said Chase: “We’re going to be OK.”
Contact columnist Jason Williams by email at jwilliams@enquirer.com
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow, offense sputters in win vs LA Rams
