CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals dropped their season opener to the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, 16-13, as kicker Randy Bullock missed wide right on a potential game-tying 31-yard field goal.
Quarterback and No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Burrow completed 23 of 36 passes for 193 yards and also accrued 46 rushing yards on eight attempts, with half of those yards coming on a 23-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for his first career touchdown.
Here are my takeaways from yesterday’s game.
- The game of football can absolutely come down to the kicker. And that’s not just the end of the game. Los Angeles managed to drive 61 yards in six plays over 33 seconds, culminating in a 43-yard field goal. That’s three crucial points in a game decided by three points.
2. There were several mistakes made yesterday, obviously. Three sacks, Joe Mixon’s fumble and Burrow’s first career interception. That said, if you would have told me with all of those mistakes that the Bengals would have an opportunity at the end of the game to tie or win, I would have gladly taken that.
3. Jessie Bates was excellent in coverage yesterday with two passes defended and five tackles. The most impactful play he made was a pass breakup on Chargers tight end Hunter Henry that forced L.A. to settle for a field goal, and allowed the Bengals to drive deep into Chargers territory twice down the stretch.
4. Immediately after the game, I thought the offensive line improved in the second half. Now that I’m thinking about it, Burrow was flushed out of the pocket on numerous plays forcing him to run. Watching a replay of the game will allow me to see exactly how many times Burrow was flushed from the pocket and the offensive line’s overall performance.
5. Speaking of Burrow being flushed out of the pocket, the fact that he can run the ball effectively shows his ability to overcome the offensive line’s deficiencies. That will enable the Bengals to be competitive in most games this season.
6. While yesterday was the NFL debut of Joe Burrow, it also marked the return of star wide receiver A.J. Green playing in his first game since December of 2018. Green led all pass catchers with nine targets, five receptions and 51 receiving yards while showing glimpses of his old athletic self.
7. I was disappointed to see Tyler Boyd only get targeted five times, including no targets in the first half. Green’s presence could reduce the number of times Boyd is targeted per game this season compared to 2019, but I was looking forward to seeing the connection between him and Burrow that reportedly was working well in Training Camp.
8. While Burrow’s on field performance yesterday may not have been eye-popping, it’s what he said after the game that makes me, as a fan, so happy to have him as the quarterback and that he is focused on winning. Below are some notable questions and answers from Burrow’s postgame press conference. (Script courtesy of bengals.com. Questions in bold)
Do you think the officials could or should have called off-setting penalties on your pass that would have scored the go-ahead touchdown near the end of the game instead of the offensive pass interference since A.J. Green appeared to be being held before the push-off?
“I don’t know. It was a bang-bang play. At the end of the day, I made too many mistakes to win the game and we just didn’t make enough plays to win the game. So, whether that call goes our way or not, a lot of calls are going to go in a lot of different ways throughout the game. I missed A.J. on a deep ball and John (Ross III) on a deep ball (in the end zone earlier) and then I threw the interception — that just can’t happen.”
There are certainly some plays you’d like to have back. How would you assess your individual performance today not having seen the film?
“‘D.’ I can’t miss that throw to A.J. (in the end zone). A high schooler can make that throw. And I can’t throw the ball right to Melvin Ingram when we’re in scoring range, so it was a tough way to lose.”
Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor said you audibled your touchdown run. What happened, and what did you see that led to that call? How did it feel to score your first NFL touchdown?
“You know, it felt good at the time. (It) doesn’t matter now, but we were in (an) empty (formation and) they didn’t put anybody in the box, so we just went to (a) quarterback draw and ended up scoring, but I’m not too worried about that.”
Do you have any plans for the ball with which you scored your first NFL touchdown?
“No, I’m not really thinking about that right now. Probably give it to my mom or something.”
Did you talk to John Ross about the deep ball that was missed in the end zone that likely would have been a touchdown? It didn’t look overthrown …
“No not really. The way I see it, I overthrew him. I’ve got to put it on his chest. I’ll watch the film and see what happened, but I’ve got to make a better throw.”
9. Randy Bullock needs to go. I know some might think I’m taking part in overreaction Monday, but I’m not. He’s missed too many critical kicks in his career, and it all culminated yesterday in missing a chip shot, game-tying field goal. After yesterday, it is not an added bonus, but rather crucial to have a kicker on the roster that can deliver in those clutch moments. Bullock is not one of those kickers, and yesterday proved that.
10. I’m calling it right now: the Bengals are winning Thursday night. I saw and heard enough from Burrow that he’s going to be ready to go three days from now and have the team ready as well. The silver lining in Sunday’s loss is that the Bengals only have to taste this for a few days, and they will face a Browns team that got blown out by the Ravens 38-6 Sunday. I’ll be watching film of that game leading up to our game preview show this week, and we’ll see if the film shows that the Browns are as bad as the scoreboard suggests.
Let me be Frank and Cut to the Chase 