Falcons vs. Bengals: Atlanta Gets Torched by Joe Burrow in 35-17 Loss
For the first time this season, the Atlanta Falcons can get over .500 with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
After an 0-2 start to the season, the Falcons have rebounded to win three out of their last four games, including a 28-14 win over the San Francisco 49ers in their most recent outing.
Marcus Mariota had an efficient performance through the air, completing 13 of his 14 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns, one of which went to Kyle Pitts for his first of the season. Mariota also ran for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Atlanta's defense also stepped up, forcing three turnovers, including a fumble that was recovered and ran back for a touchdown.
The Bengals have slowly started to turn their season around by also winning three out of their last four games after starting the season 0-2.
Joe Burrow had one of his best outings of the season, completing 28 of his 37 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns in the Bengals' 30-26 win over the New Orleans Saints. Burrow also had a rushing touchdown for Cincinnati.
Ja'Marr Chase also had a huge performance with seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
The Falcons and Bengals play at 1 p.m. at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.
Here are the inactives for the game:
Falcons:
CB Dee Alford
OLB Quinton Bell
DT Matt Dickerson
OL Chuma Edoga
TE Anthony Firkser
Bengals:
G Jackson Carman
DE Jeffrey Gunter
DT Josh Tupou
LB Logan Wilson
WR Stanley Morgan
OT D'Ante Smith
Check back to Falcon Report for live coverage throughout today's game.
First Quarter:
The Bengals won the toss and receive to start the game. Chris Evans returns the kick and gets tripped by at the 16-yard line.
On the first play of the game, Joe Burrow takes the snap out of shotgun and completes a pass to Tyler Boyd for 11-yards and a first down.
Burrow hands it off to Joe Mixon and he runs for six yards. On second and four, Burrow completes a pass to Hayden Hurst for eight yards and another first down.
Burrow drops back and goes deep to a wide-open Boyd and he scores for a 60-yard touchdown.
Evan McPherson's extra point is good with 13 minutes left in the first quarter.
Bengals 7, Falcons 0
End of possession.
McPherson's kick goes through the back of the end zone for a touchback.
Marcus Mariota drops back but finds no one down the field and scrambles for four yards. Mariota hands it off to Allgeier who runs for eight yards and a first down.
Allgeier gets the carry again but only gets three yards. Mariota pump fakes and throws a screen to Kyle Pitts but he's tackled quickly by Jesse Bates. On third and five, Mariota tries to throw another screen but it's wide and falls incomplete.
Bradley Pinion comes out to punt and Trent Taylor returns it to the Bengals' 28-yard line.
Change of possession.
Burrow looks for Chase but the pass is dropped. On second and 10, Burrow completes a pass to Hurst for 12-yards and a first down.
Mixon gets the carry for five yards on first down. Mixon gets the ball again, this time on a pass from Burrow and he runs for 22 yards before being pushed out of bounds at Atlanta's 33-yard line. A.J. Terrell is down and being attended to by the Falcons training staff.
Burrow throws a pass to Hurst and it falls incomplete on first down. On second and 10, Burrow completes his first pass of the game to Chase for 17 yards.
Mixon gets the carry on first down and he runs for three yards. Burrow drops back to pass again and finds Boyd who gets pushed out at the one-yard line.
Before first and goal, Cordell Volson jumps for a false start to move Cincinnati back to the six-yard line. Burrow throws a quick pass to Mixon who gets tackled at the two-yard line. Mixon gets the handoff but is stuffed at the one-yard line. On third and goal, Mixon gets the ball once more and after stumbling, he finds the end zone for a touchdown.
McPherson's extra point is good with 4:51 left in the first quarter.
Bengals 14, Falcons 0
End of possession.
Atlanta starts the drive at its 25-yard line after the touchback.
Caleb Huntley gets the carry on first down and only gains two yards. On second and eight, Huntley gets the ball again and gains five yards. Mariota drops back on third down and the pass is knocked down by Sam Hubbard.
Pinion comes out to punt and Taylor calls for a fair catch at Cincinnati's 25-yard line.
Change of possession.
Burrow completes the pass on first down to Mixon for eight yards. On second and two, Mixon catches another pass but it's negated by an illegal shift. On second and seven, Hurst jumps early to move the Bengals back five more yards. Burrow completes a quick pass to Samaje Perine for just a gain of two. On third and 10, Burrow completes a pass to Chase for 11 yards and a first down.
Burrow drops back to pass again on first down and Boyd makes a one-handed catch for a 20-yard gain.
Burrow completes another pass, this time to Tee Higgins for 13 yards and another first down at the end of the first quarter.
End of the quarter.
Second Quarter:
On the first play of the quarter, Burrow goes deep and finds Chase for a 32-yard touchdown.
McPherson's extra point is good.
Bengals 21, Falcons 0
Change of possession.
The Falcons begin the drive at their 25-yard line after the touchback.
Drake London gets his first catch of the game for a nine-yard gain. On second and one, Allgeier just gets to the line of scrimmage before being pushed out of bounds. Mariota fumbles the snap on third down but recovers and gets two yards for a first down.
Allgeier gets the carry on first down but only gets a yard. On second down, Mariota completes the pass to Olamide Zaccheaus for 11-yards and a first down.
Allgeier gets the carry on first down and he gets five yards and moves Atlanta into Bengals' territory. On second and five, Mariota runs for 11 yards and a first down.
Huntley gets the carry on first down and runs through multiple defenders for 10 yards and another first down.
Huntley gets the ball once more but only gains two yards. Mariota play fakes and rolls right before tossing it up to Pitts but it falls incomplete. A flag was thrown on the play for illegal contact on Cincinnati and an ineligible man downfield for Atlanta so they'll re-play the down. On second and eight, Allgeier runs for nine yards and a first down.
Allegeir gets the carry again on first down and runs for four yards. On second and six, Allegeir runs for nine yards to make it first and goal.
On first and goal from Cincinnati's four-yard line, Allegeir runs for two yards. On second and goal, Mariota's pass for Pitts falls incomplete but the Bengals get called for pass interference and now it's first and goal from the one-yard line.
Allgeier gets the handoff but is stopped at the line of scrimmage. On second and goal, Mariota throws a quick pass to Pitts and he's stopped short of the goal line. Arthur Smith challenges the ruling on the field that Pitts didn't score a touchdown. After review, the call stands.
On third and goal, Allegeir takes it into the end zone for a touchdown to cap off a 16-play, 75-yard drive that took 10 minutes and nine seconds off the clock.
Younghoe Koo's extra point is good.
Bengals 21, Falcons 7
End of possession.
Cincinnati begins the drive at their 25-yard line after the touchback.
Burrow completes another pass to Boyd for 13-yards and a first down.
Burrow rolls to his left and gets sacked by Grady Jarrett for a six-yard loss. On second and 16, Burrow completes a 13-yard pass to Hurst. Burrow throws a screen to Hurst and he runs four yards for a first down at the two-minute warning.
On first down, Lorenzo Carter is left unblocked and he sacks Burrow for a nine-yard loss. On second and 19, Burrow completes a pass to Higgins for 25 yards. Burrow completes a pass to Chase and he maneuvers his way through the Falcons' defense en route to a 41-yard touchdown.
McPherson's extra point is good with 49 seconds left in the first half.
Bengals 28, Falcons 7
Change of possession.
The Falcons start the drive at their 25-yard line after the touchback.
On the first play of the drive, Mariota goes deep and finds Damiere Byrd wide-open down the field for a 75-yard touchdown.
Koo's extra point is good with 39 seconds left in the first half.
Bengals 28, Falcons 14
Change of possession.
Cincinnati begins the drive at its 25-yard line.
Burrow goes right back to Chase for a 13-yard gain on first down.
Burrow completes a quick pass to Perine and he runs for six yards before the Bengals call its first timeout of the game.
On second and four, Burrow's pass to Chase is incomplete. On third and four, Burrow's pass intended for Boyd also falls incomplete.
Kevin Huber comes out to punt for the first time in the game and Avery Williams runs it all the way to Cincinnati's 25-yard line with three seconds left in the half.
Change of possession.
Koo comes out to kick the 43-yard field goal and it's good as the first half comes to an end.
Bengals 28, Falcons 17
Halftime
Third Quarter:
Atlanta gets the ball at its 25-yard line to start the second half.
Allegeir gets the handoff but only gains a yard. Mariota drops back on second down and is forced to throw it away. On third and long, Mariota's pass that's intended for Pitts is deflected and falls incomplete.
Pinion comes out to punt and Taylor returns it 15 yards to Cincinnati's 43-yard line.
Change of possession.
Cincinnati gets a big play on first down with a 21-yard pass from Burrow to Higgins to Atlanta's 36-yard line.
Mixon gets the handoff and runs for five yards. On second and five, Burrow completes a quick pass to Boyd and he runs backward to negate the first down. Mixon gets the carry on third and one and gets stopped before the line to gain.
The Bengals go for it on fourth down and Burrow's pass to Higgins falls incomplete.
Change of possession.
Mariota tosses it to Allegeir on first down but he's tackled for a three-yard loss. On second and long, Mariota gets sacked by Trey Hendrickson. Mariota is forced to scramble on third and long and he gains 10 yards but is tackled short of a first down.
Pinion's punt gets muffed by Taylor but a flag is thrown for catch interference at Cincinnati's 23-yard line. Mike Ford is down for the Falcons with a lower-body injury.
Change of possession.
Burrow connects with Hurst on first down for a five-yard gain. Burrow finds his favorite target, Chase on a screen and he's tackled just short of a first down. Before the play on third down, Cincinnati calls its first timeout of the half.
On third and one, Burrow's pass is intercepted by Richie Grant and ran back to Atlanta's 34-yard line but a flag is thrown on the play. Abdullah Anderson was flagged for being offsides and the Bengals get a first down.
Mixon gets the handoff on first down but only gains a yard. On second and nine, Burrow throws a back-shoulder pass to Boyd and it's caught for a gain of 24 yards.
On first and 10 from Atlanta's 23-yard line, Burrow completes a pass to Higgins and he gets tackled just short of a touchdown.
On first and goal from the one, Burrow's pass is batted down. Burrow keeps it on second and goal and sneaks it into the end zone for a touchdown.
McPherson's extra point is good with 5:20 left in the third quarter.
Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Change of possession.
Atlants starts the drive at its 25-yard line.
Huntley gets the handoff on first down and gains just two yards before slipping. On second down, Mariota completes a pass to Zaccheaus for 12-yards and a first down.
Huntley gets the ball again on first down and he gains a yard. Mariota is forced to scramble on second down and gets two yards. Hendrickson is down on the field for Cincinnati. On third and seven, Hubbard sacks Mariota for an eight-yard loss.
Pinion's punt goes to Cincinnati's 17-yard line and Taylor returns it six yards to the 23-yard line.
Change of possession.
Burrow finds one of his favorite targets, Boyd, for nine yards. Mixon gets the carry on second down and runs three yards to move the sticks.
DeAngelo Malone gets the sack on Burrow for an 11-yard loss and that's the end of the third quarter.
End of the quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
Burrow completes a short pass to Mitchell Wilcox to make it third and 11. Burrow is forced out of the pocket on third down and gets hit as he throws the ball away.
Huber's punt is caught by Williams at Atlanta's 12-yard line and he runs it to the 19-yard line.
Change of possession.
Allegeir gets the handoff on first down and runs for seven yards. On second and short, Allegeir gets the carry again but gets stopped at the line of scrimmage. On third and three, Mariota completes the pass to Pitts for seven yards and a first down.
Atlanta goes back to its running game on first down and Allegeir carries it for third yards. On second and seven, Mariota's pass to Zaccheaus is incomplete. Mariota goes back to Zaccheaus on third down and it's caught for an eight-yard gain and a first down.
Allegeir gets the handoff once more on first down for four yards. On second and six, Mariota keeps it but only gets a yard to make it third and five. Joseph Ossai sacks Mariota for a nine-yard loss on third down.
Pinion's punt is a beauty and lands at the Bengals' four-yard line with 8:50 left in the game.
Change of possession.
A penalty on Cincinnati moved them back to the two-yard line to start the drive.
Mixon gets the carry on first down and is stopped at the line of scrimmage. On second and 10, Mixon finds more room and runs for six yards. Atlanta's Jaylinn Hawkins was hurt on the play. On third and four, Burrow completes a pass to a wide-open Higgins for 13-yards and a first down.
Burrow hands it off to Mixon on first down and he gains five yards. Mixon gets the ball once more on second down but only gains two yards. The Falcons take their first timeout of the game with 5:43 left in the game. On third and four, Burrow does it with his legs and runs for 20 yards and a first down.
Burrow hands it off to Mixon on first down and he runs 11 yards for a first down.
Burrow drops back to pass on first down and connects with Chase for a six-yard gain. Burrow hands it off to Mixon again and he gets two yards. Atlanta calls its second timeout of the game with 3:59 remaining in the game. On third and two, Burrow's pass to Chase is complete for eight yards and a first down.
On first down, Burrow completes the pass to Wilcox for six yards and Atlanta calls its last timeout of the game. On second and four, Burrow's pass goes to Higgins but it's ruled incomplete after further discussion. Burrow completes the pass to Hurst for six yards and another third-down conversion.
Mixon gets the carry on first down and runs six yards before the game reaches the two-minute warning. Mixon gets the handoff on second down but loses two yards. On third and six, Mixon rushes for four yards and gets stopped at the Falcons' four-yard line. On fourth and two, Burrow gets Timmy Horne to jump offside to give Cincinnati a first down. Burrow takes a knee and that's the end of the ballgame.
Final: Bengals 35, Falcons 17
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