The Cincinnati Bengals confirmed even the highest expectations for the budding offense as Joe Burrow and Co. cruised to a 35-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Those Bengals jumped out to a 21-0 lead fast and, outside of a few minor hiccups by the defense and special teams, never felt overly threatened on the day.
Buy Bengals TicketsHere’s a look at some in-game notes and numbers to know as the Bengals move to 4-3.
Quick Hits
— A week removed from admitting they need to get Tyler Boyd more work and doing so, an all-Boyd opening drive led to an easy touchdown within two minutes of the kickoff.
— That was fast. Bengals jumped to a 21-0 lead very, very quickly. Implementing RPOs and the Falcons going with some…interesting coverages didn’t help. Joe Mixon scored a short rushing touchdown and Ja’Marr Chase caught a wicked 32-yard score down the right sideline.
— Like last week, Burrow again looked very comfortable in the pocket and pretty much any scenario.
— Bengals were up 21-0 and 28-7 but defense and special teams botched a comfortable lead. The former gave up a huge touchdown on bad coverage by Eli Apple and Kevin Huber shanked a punt, only for his coverage team to give up a return of 50-plus yards, completing a 10-point swing before halftime.
— Ja’Marr Chase and La’el Collins suffered injuries. They would both return, but star defensive end Trey Hendrickson would not after suffering a neck injury.
— Bengals defensive line had a huge day even without Hendrickson. Sam Hubbard and Joseph Ossai wreaked havoc, while names like rookie Zach Carter and Jay Tufele had better-than-expected showings.
— The cornerback change, with Eli Apple seemingly benched for rookie Cam Taylor-Britt, is going to be a major talking point all week.
— Coordinator Lou Anarumo again deserves a ton of credit for the second-half adjustments that has the defense looking elite in crunch time.
Key Stat
481: Burrow’s passing yardage on the day while accounting for four total touchdowns. He fired just eight incompletions and baked into these numbers is the usual pocket-magic and play extension fans have come to expect.
Game Balls
WR Ja’Marr Chase: If it’s not Burrow on offense, who else? Chase caught eight passes for 130 yards and two scores, not too shabby for a guy who was limited in practice this week with a hip issue.
DL: Let’s just cite them all. No DJ Reader, no major problem. Hendrickson goes down? Depth guys step up. An incredible sign for the unit as a whole over a 17-game (and maybe more) outlook.
Top Takeaway
Matching the hype: This is what most expected from the Bengals in Week 1. That was never realistic, not with Burrow’s appendix issue, the lack of reps for the offensive line, defenses adapting and so many other factors. But late is better than never and the team has two more winnable games before a bye, which they could now hit at 6-3.
