{"id":134608,"date":"2022-09-11T19:40:07","date_gmt":"2022-09-11T23:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=134608"},"modified":"2022-09-12T14:15:31","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T18:15:31","slug":"reactions-from-bengals-week-1-debacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/09\/11\/reactions-from-bengals-week-1-debacle\/","title":{"rendered":"Quick Reactions from the Cincinnati Bengals Week 1 Debacle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cincinnati Bengals Week 1 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers did not go as planned. Cincinnati was coming home off of an AFC North Divisional title and a Super Bowl run but fell flat. They lost the turnover battle, five to nothing; one was even a pick-six. The sky looks like it’s falling.<\/p>\n

Four Quick Reactions from the Bengals Week 1 Loss<\/h2>\n

Burrow’s Style = Double-Edged Sword?<\/h3>\n

We know what Joe Burrow<\/a> is. Burrow is a playmaker, he loves to extend plays and work out of messy situations. Unfortunately, that results in turnovers. Last year, Burrow threw 14 interceptions in the regular season and two in the playoffs. Those 14 interceptions were “good” for sixth-most in the NFL. Oddly enough, guys like Matthew Stafford<\/a>, Josh Allen<\/a>, Justin Herbert<\/a> threw more. The aggressive playstyle giveth, the aggressive playstyle taketh away.<\/p>\n

Was Joe Burrow the reason the Bengals lost this game? The argument could be made. However, was Joe Burrow a big reason why it took 70 minutes to fell this team? Two of his interceptions were forced balls to Tyler Boyd<\/a>, one was a great play by T.J. Watt<\/a> at the line, and one was, essentially, an arm punt on fourth down. Plus, Burrow lost a fumble after Alex Highsmith<\/a> took Jonah Williams<\/a>‘ lunch.\u00a0 The box score looks a whole lot worse when you just look at the numbers. It was a bad game by Burow, there is no getting around that. But credit where credit is due: Pittsburgh had a near-perfect defensive game plan for this offense.<\/p>\n

Despite all of that, Burrow never really wavered. Most quarterbacks would just about quit if they gave it up four times in their first five drives with seven sacks in the game. However, down the stretch, Burrow led the offense to what should have been three scoring drives.<\/p>\n

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Both the Rams and Bengals lost in Week 1.<\/p>\n

It's the 1st time since 1999 (Broncos & Falcons) and the 5th time overall that the two Super Bowl teams from the previous year each lost their season opener. pic.twitter.com\/OxoD3X4N9r<\/a><\/p>\n

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n