Three Down Look: Bengals fall to Chargers
The Bengals fell to the Chargers 16-13 on Sunday. Cincinnati moves to 0-4 all-time against the Chargers in season openers. Let's take a three-down look at Sunday's notable developments.
First Down: Joe Burrow in crunch time
What Joe Burrow did at the end of the game didn't bring the Bengals their first victory of the season, but it was key towards sustained winning under head coach Zac Taylor. Burrow was under pressure for most of the game. The team also had to overcome two fourth quarter turnovers. Despite the adversity, the offense fell into place on the final drive.
The Bengals initiated the hurry-up offense trailing 16-13 with 3:06 remaining. Burrow marched them downfield, going 8-of-11 for 70 yards.
Fate had cruel plans for the Bengals, Green committed pass interference on the game-winning touchdown. Seconds later Randy Bullock sealed the result with a 31-yard shank. Burrow finished 23-of-36 for 193 yards and one interception plus another 46 yards rushing and a touchdown.
"He’s unbelievable. That guy doesn’t flinch," Green said. "The way he handled himself in that last drive was unbelievable. I haven’t seen no rookie the way he handled it after adversity. We got a special one in Joe and we are gonna be better next week. We are gonna build this thing brick by brick and get better each week."
Despite the ending, what Burrow delivered on the final drive was a glimpse of the future. Being clutch in crunch time is a big reason why he was the consensus No. 1 pick.
Second Down: Offensive line falls flat
The men tabbed with protecting Burrow hung him out to dry early and often against Los Angeles. The Chargers sacked the rookie three times in the first half and gave up another six hits on the signal-caller.
The line played poorly as a unit, but Bobby Hart stuck out. Joey Bosa picked on the right tackle at will to begin the game and never allowed Burrow enough breathing room to get into a comfortable rhythm. Things turned around after the break as the group allowed zero sacks in the second half.
Taylor and Jim Turner made the proper adjustments in the locker room and helped take the offense off of life support. They might have found something tangible from the rhythm passing on the final drive. Cincinnati trotted out a five wide receiver look to close the game and the offensive line responded with clean pockets for Burrow.
Third Down: Jessie Bates III sets the tone
Jessie Bates III is eligible for an extension next offseason and he showed everyone why he might get paid. The third-year player finished the afternoon with five solo tackles and two pass breakups after finishing with nine last season. One of which saved a touchdown on the Chargers' last scoring drive of the game. Bates tracked Hunter Henry to the corner of the endzone and got his hands on a well-placed throw from Tyrod Taylor to keep six off the board.
Bates III brought a mentality that trickled down to the rest of the unit, making hard hits throughout the game and imposing his will on the Chargers downfield options. Bates highlighted a strong defensive performance from Cincinnati, giving the Chargers slim pickings on downfield shots and containing Austin Ekeler to 84 total yards.
D.J. Reader got carted off the field and missed some time with cramps. That exposed the cracks in the run defense from 2019 on the Chargers lone touchdown drive. Reader returned to plug things back up one drive later. It wasn't a perfect performance, but the Bengals defense showed a lot of promise to open year two under Lou Anarumo.
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