The Cincinnati Bengals remained alive in primetime on Monday night, beating the Dallas Cowboys 27-20.
Cincinnati needed a monster effort from Joe Burrow Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase to overcome the defense again, but a few late breaks finally went their way.
Here’s a look at some quick notes, numbers to know and takeaways from the game.
Quick thoughts
- Defense, if nothing else, is consistent. What appeared to be a blown coverage on a blitz let the Cowboys score an easy touchdown to make it 7-0.
- The missed tackles are again a huge issue, with one notable potential backfield stop going halfway down the field.
- Joe Burrow is still playing MVP ball, even firing off a touchdown pass before Ja’Marr Chase had even gotten out of his break on the route.
- The girlfriend of Bengals kicker Cade York — a Cowboys cheerleader — had a special moment during the game.
- Bengals just couldn’t get out of their own way again, playing down to the competition while fumbling, throwing picks and putting forth a lackluster defensive effort in the second half.
- Burrow, while not injured, added a sleeve to his knee after hit.
Key stat
18: Number of targets for Ja’Marr Chase, who was almost the entire offense on the day. He turned it into 14 catches for 177 yards and two scores.
Game balls
QB Joe Burrow: The interception wasn’t great, obviously, but one has to consider just how much Burrow has to do to keep his team in games right now. He threw for 369 yards and three scores.
RB Chase Brown: There’s no doubt about Brown as the lead back and his big day on the ground and as a receiver was just proof of what fans already knew.
Top takeaway
Reset incoming: The defense is headed for a blowup. The effort on missed tackles is horrific and has been for most of the year. Many of the angles are bad and the entire unit is slow. Expect most of the major, veteran names to finish out their last few games in stripes over the next few weeks.
