Final Thoughts: Cincinnati Bengals Click In Complete Win Over Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati improves to 5-4 on the season.

Author:
Nicole Zembrodt
Publish date:
Nov 7, 2022 5:34 PM EST

In this story:

The Bengals picked up a much-needed win Sunday beating the Panthers 42-21 in dominating fashion. The score was 35-0 at halftime.

Joe Burrow threw 22-of-28 passes for 206 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for a score.

Joe Mixon ran for 153 yards on 22 rushes and four scores. He added four catches for 58 yards and another touchdown. Mixon's five touchdowns set a new franchise record.

Mixon also surpassed the 5,000-yard mark for his career in the first quarter. He's the fifth running back in Bengals history to reach the milestone.

The defense held Carolina's offense to a total of 32 yards and one first down in the first half as a result of a penalty. P.J. Walker was 3-of-10 for 9 yards and two interceptions prompting Baker Mayfield to take over as QB1 for the second half.

"Complete game," Burrow said following the game. "First complete game of the year. That's how we expect to play every week—run game, pass game, defense. It was all clicking."

Cincinnati received the ball to start the game and set the tone from there. Burrow led the opening drive on nine plays for 90 yards, including a catch-and-run from Mixon for 35 yards. The quarterback was 5-for-5 for 69 yards. Mixon finished the drive off with a two-yard run for his first score.

"When you start like that, you know it's going to be a good day," Burrow said. "Teams like that... you got to jump out early on them and put them to sleep."

The defense answered with their first of three-straight three-and-outs to start the game. Six of the Panthers ten offensive drives were three plays or less.

Mixon's day took off in the second quarter. He crossed the pylon three more times in the quarter. Mixon finished the first half with four total scores (three rushing, one reception); 113 yards on 15 attempts and four catches for 59 yards.

He averaged seven yards per carry and 8.1 yards from scrimmage on the day.

"We had a balanced attack," Mixon said. "We stayed true to what we wanted to do and that was being a balanced attack."

Cincinnati had 39 rushing attempts and 31 passing attempts. The success of their balanced attack allowed the Bengals to open up their offensive play book.

Eight different players were targeted in the passing game.

Samaje Perine added six carries for 51 yards. Trent Taylor (three attempts for 18 yards) and Trenton Irwin (one carry for 11 yards) both had jet sweep run plays. Burrow took the ball himself on a few designed run calls as well.

The offense continually moved the ball downfield. They had 30 first downs on the day.

"You love to do exactly what we did today," Burrow said. "We're running the ball, we're play-actioning, we're dropping back, we're throwing screens. When you're multiple like that, it's going to be tough to stop."

Germaine Pratt and Jessie Bates both had second quarter interceptions that gave the Bengals good field position and turned into scores.

It was a shutdown performance by a shorthanded defensive unit. Mayfield did find success against them in the second half, but the game was a wash at that point.

The Bengals wanted to quickly forget their loss in Cleveland and turn things around this week. They needed to find an identity in the absences of Ja'Marr Chase, Chidobe Awuzie, and DJ Reader.

"There wasn't a lot of joy going around the locker room this week," Burrow said. "It's good to win a game like this in the fashion that we did going into the bye. Everyone can enjoy the bye, get their bodies right, and be ready to go."

Health was a factor in the Bengals second half and postseason run last season as they were relatively healthy.

The bye comes at an ideal time to allow players to get fresh. The downtime is key in the recovery windows for Chase and Reader too. Burrow was optimistic about Chase's injury following Sunday's game. Updates on Reader's status have been positive as well.

Five of the eight teams Cincinnati faces in the second half of the season are above .500 and in the playoff picture. They will also go against all three of their division rivals again.

The Bengals start their second half quest for the playoffs on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 8:20 p.m. as they are back on the road in Pittsburgh for Sunday Night Football.

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