Another Week 1 matchup between the expected Super Bowl-contending Cincinnati Bengals and a perceived lesser opponent, another ugly, unexplainable loss. The Bengals were beaten down and outcoached at every juncture and all three phases by the New England Patriots.
As the case was last year in the awful season-opening loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Bengals started slow and failed to execute. While this game was not as hopeless as the Browns loss was – given, that’s debatable – it felt like Cincinnati was not ready for regular-season football.
Just about everything went wrong that could have. As a result, Joe Burrow is in some less-than-elite company. Now, Cincinnati is left with more questions than answers.
Fewest yards/attempt since the start of last season
(min. 350 passes)Bryce Young 5.5
Josh Dobbs 5.9
Zach Wilson 6.2
Joe Burrow 6.3 pic.twitter.com/Turo1z0Xzy— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 8, 2024
Joe Burrow Joins Dubious Company After Ugly Week 1 Loss
If there was a Bengal who logged at least one snap on offense or defense and did not have a rough day, it would be a surprise. Punter Ryan Rehkow and kicker Evan McPherson were great. But that was it.
Burrow, ultimately, was okay but looked significantly worse than you’d want from your franchise quarterback. He finished the day 21/29 for just 164 yards and no touchdowns.
It should be noted that in the second quarter, the Bengals offense actually put together a drive after three three-and-outs. On second and 11 at the New England 15, Burrow hit Mike Gesicki with a perfect pass in the back corner of the endzone for a touchdown. Unfortunately, Gesicki couldn’t maintain control throughout the catch and it was called back. Then, on the next play, Burrow hit Tanner Hudson short, and the tight end should have had a touchdown of his own but had the ball stolen just before he crossed the goal line.
A Bad Gameplan vs. a Great Gameplan
Despite the fact that the Patriots are likely looking at five or six wins this year, the defensive performance and gameplan were incredibly solid. They forced four three-and-outs on the day (the first three drives and the final drive) and forced that fumble just short of the goal line. Plus, they benefited from Charlie Jones fumbling away a punt after a three-and-out right out of the half.
The Patriots traded away Matthew Judon and were without Christian Barmore. Before this game, if you weren’t a Patriots game, would you know who Keion White was? Even though he was a second-round pick last year, he only managed one sack and a total of 26 tackles in his rookie year. In this game? He managed four tackles and 2.5 sacks with three quarterback hits.
Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington used the 116 days between the NFL schedule release and Week 1 and devised a great gameplan. His defensive line disrupted everything the Bengals wanted to do both on the ground and through the air. In the secondary, the Patriots kept everything in front of them and forced Burrow to dink and dunk his way down the field.
As the Ben Baby tweet above said, Burrow has the fourth-fewest yards-per-attempt since Week 1 of last year. Context: Burrow attempted 394 passes compared to Bryce Young‘s 557, Josh Dobbs’ 417, and Zach Wilson‘s 368. Obviously, Burrow was hurt for the first month of last year, as well. We need not say why Burrow being in the company of those three quarterbacks is not ideal for the Bengals.
Per ESPN Stats & Info:
Joe Burrow's 16 of 20 attempts (80%) have been thrown within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) September 8, 2024
The Patriots forced Burrow to check it down left and right. They did a great job of both taking away the downfield shots and getting to Burrow to speed up his internal clock. Ja’Marr Chase converted all six targets on the night for six catches and 62 yards. The next closest receiver was Andrei Iosivas and his three catches and 26 yards. The offense was missing Tee Higgins.
However, it wasn’t just New England’s solid play, Zac Taylor’s offense playcalling struggled. Perhaps the most egregious was drawing up multiple concepts that had the ball thrown short of the first-down sticks.
On the first drive, third and nine resulted in a seven-yard pass.
On the second drive, third and six resulted in a five-yard pass.
Then, in the first drive of the second half, a fourth and two resulted in a drawn-up Iosivas bubble screen that went behind the line for a one-yard gain.
On the final drive, Burrow had to check down on third and ten for a five-yard gain.
Yes, the receivers should be expected to get a yard or two after the catch. However, perhaps Taylor could take that part of the game out of the players’ hands and just call plays that have route concepts deeper than the first-down sticks.
In the coach’s defense, it is difficult to call route concepts that take time to develop when Burrow has no time to throw. You can conceded that point.
Only Gets Harder Next Week
There are no off-weeks or free wins in the NFL. Writing off the Patriots despite Cincinnati coming in as a 7.5-point favorite was always foolish.
Next week, the Bengals get to travel to the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
With Burrow, all things are possible. However, if the team plays as it did in Week 1 again, it’s going to be harder than it has been in the Burrow era.
The narratives will remind us that the Bengals are 3-1 against the Chiefs with Burrow as the starting quarterback, including two playoff matchups. Even with Jake Browning, the Bengals kept it close in Week 17 of last year. It took a 12-0 run in the second half for the Chiefs to win, 25-17.
Anything can happen. But it’s abundantly apparent that the Bengals have some things to iron out.
Main Image: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
