Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is said to have enough presence to mask the problems that lie beneath the surface.
Over the years, he has been the Bengals’ trailblazer as they overcome terrible offensive lines, injuries, adversity and pressure. But on Sunday, when the Bengals lost their season opener 16-10 to a terrible New England Patriots team at Paycor Stadium, the Bengals showed they have to dig their way out of a big hole if they want to go anywhere this season.
The Bengals ran into a number of problems, but they got the ball back with three minutes left, trailing by six points. The Bengals had another three-and-out with three plays that never really got going.
Burrow threw two quick, short, incomplete passes to start the drive. And he threw the ball to running back Zack Moss on third down when the Bengals remained well short of the goal line.
The Bengals looked like a team whose star receiver had skipped training camp, whose other star receiver was on the bench with a hamstring injury, and whose reshuffled defense had lost its best run stopper.
Burrow has overcome many problems in the past, but he was not at his best on Sunday either.
The Bengals didn’t get a first down until midway through the second quarter, and Burrow looked like a quarterback who didn’t have a good feel for the rush. The Bengals’ offensive line didn’t give Burrow much time, Burrow didn’t look deep often, and head coach Zac Taylor didn’t seem to have a solid plan for how he would use Chase.
Add to that a missed touchdown by tight end Mike Gesicki, a fumble by tight end Tanner Hudson at the goal line, a missed interception by safety Geno Stone and a fumbled punt return by Charlie Jones, and the Bengals kept shooting themselves in the foot.
Midway through the third quarter, the Cincinnati Bengals faced a fourth-and-2 attempt at the New England Patriots 36-yard line. The Bengals were down 13 points and trying to catch up. Head coach Zac Taylor set a block on wide receiver Andrei Iosivas.
Burrow threw the ball again just short of the stick, and the drive was still in the balance. Iosivas’ route went just short of the stick. Burrow threw the ball to him anyway, and the Patriots made the tackle to stop the ball.
The play didn’t show much confidence in Burrow’s greatest strengths. He didn’t look confident as a downfield passer all game. Most of his attempts were near the line of scrimmage and he didn’t seem to have a good feel for the pass rush.
Burrow is one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks because he takes risks willingly and efficiently. But on Sunday he wasn’t as aggressive as he should have been. That was evident again on the Bengals’ final possession, when Burrow didn’t attempt a single long throw.
Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was not sufficiently involved in his return
Chase took a back seat for much of Sunday’s action. The Bengals didn’t have a chance to get him to the ball like they normally do, likely due to the time he missed in training camp.
The Patriots followed Chase with second-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who has a lot of potential but whose training camp has been marked by ups and downs. Gonzalez played a nearly perfect game on Sunday, but he’s not a good cornerback who could shut down Chase like he did.
Chase caught a 28-yard pass in the fourth quarter when he found space between the linebackers and safeties and threw a touch pass to Burrow for a first down. There were more opportunities for more plays like that, but the Bengals failed to capitalize on them.
The Bengals also sorely missed wide receiver Tee Higgins, who was out with a hamstring injury. The Patriots don’t have a great cornerback other than Gonzalez. When the Bengals faced New England in 2022, Higgins attacked that undersized secondary with one deep catch after another.
When Chase wasn’t playing, Burrow had no other proven receiver to fall back on. Burrow tried checkdowns to running backs and crossing routes to tight ends, but the Bengals weren’t built to win with those plays.
The Bengals’ poor run defense is more than just a missing defensive tackle
The Patriots team, which has a poor passing attack, focused entirely on their running game and the Bengals fell behind because they could not stop the run.
They are missing defensive tackle DJ Reader, who is now with the Detroit Lions. But the problems go much deeper. Hill missed tackles and linebacker Germaine Pratt was too aggressive and missed several opportunities for stops. The Bengals constantly missed tackles. They tried many run blitzes to squash opportunities, but the Patriots responded by slicing up the Bengals defense. Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson eclipsed 100 yards.
In the final three minutes, the Patriots got the ball with a six-point lead. The Bengals defense needed to be stopped, but the Patriots ran right through the Bengals and ran down the clock.
Even though communication is better in the back end of the Bengals’ defense, it is not enough to fix the team’s biggest flaw.
