Joe Burrow is still looking to get back into form after he missed most of training camp with the right calf strain he played through in the rematch of Super Bowl LVI against the Los Angeles Rams.
The lingering effects of the injury were there, and it kept his status in doubt leading up to the game. He wasn't as mobile as he looked and didn't throw a touchdown pass, but he did help them get the Cincinnati Bengals' first win of the season.
He finished 26 of 49 for 259 yards through the air, with over half of those yards going to his top receiver, Ja'Marr Chase. Chase finished with 12 catches for 141 yards, although nine different Bengals caught at least one pass from Burrow.
The longest catch for Chase was a 43-yarder during a third quarter drive that led to the third of four field goals from Evan McPherson.
All four of the field goals from McPherson came from at least 48 yards out, with the longest coming from 54 yards. Joe Mixon had the only touchdown for Cincinnati, a 14-yard run through the left tackle side in the third quarter to give the reigning AFC North champions their first lead of the season.
Mixon led the Bengals' backfield, with 19 carries for 65 yards.
Logan Wilson intercepted Matthew Stafford twice, and the Bengals sacked him six times, with two coming from Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard combined for 13 QB pressures and nine QB hits.
Stafford threw a 1-yard touchdown to Tutu Atwell with just over a minute left in the game for the first touchdown by a Rams wide receiver this season, and the extra point got the Rams within three points, but Mitchell Wilcox fell on the onside kick to seal the Bengals win.
Stafford finished 18 of 39 for 269 yards, and Puka Nacua, whose 25 receptions for 266 yards in his first two games set a rookie record, led the Rams with five catches for 72 yards.
Burrow said he was going through a workout Monday morning leading up to the game, and he would play barring any setbacks. He felt confident in his ability to compete, and voiced it to the personnel.
He told Chase that he was going to get the ball a lot, and that was what happened.
Cincinnati didn't need him to move a lot; they needed him to be just mobile enough, and he was when extending plays and wasn't shy at throwing the ball away quickly when going through the game.
Despite getting sacked twice and hit six times, with Aaron Donald getting two of those hits, Burrow started and finished the fight in this contest.
At first it seemed as if Burrow playing on his injured calf wasn't worth the risk. He got rid of the ball quickly and couldn't push the ball downfield. But he settled in during the second half. He looked more comfortable, whether it be on designed rollouts or evading the pressure.
The Bengals' defense held their own, especially when the Rams got into the red zone. They locked down in that area, with Hendrickson and D.J. Reader getting huge sacks. It wasn't until the end of the game that the Bengals gave up a touchdown.
Wilson also proved himself to be one of the best pass coverage linebackers in the league, and justified Cincinnati's decision to keep him around. Plus, Dax Hill almost single-handedly kept the Bengals in the game through the first half. While there were breakdowns in the secondary in the second half, he has nicely filled in for Jessie Bates III so far.
The game wasn't perfect, as it had a rocky start where the crowd rained boos on the team, but the offense got rolling late and did enough to sustain drives.
This was a gutsy performance that avoided an 0-3 start for Cincinnati. It wasn't all that pretty, but any team that starts out 0-2 will not apologize for their first win of the season.
The Bengals will head to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans in their quest to establish momentum on the Sunday of October 1st.
The Rams, meanwhile, have at least one more game before Cooper Kupp is eligible to return from his trip to the IR. The offense stalled out, especially in the red zone, where they found the end zone once in their four tries. Before the touchdown drive, the Rams ran eight plays in the red zone for -10 yards, and Stafford was 1 for 7 passing there. This was a far cry from the first two weeks, where the Rams were 5 for 6 in the red zone, the best mark in the NFL.
They also went 1 for 11 on third downs, with the lone conversion coming on their final offensive play of the game. Several of those attempts were third and longs, whether it be by sack or penalty.
For as much as people are wanting to point out the issues with the Bengals' offensive line, the Rams arguably have much bigger concerns at that position. Left tackle Alaric Jackson left this game with a thigh injury and did not return, while right guard Joe Noteboom left briefly.
Backup left tackle Zach Thomas didn't do well in this game, but the Rams gave him no favors leaving him out to dry on constant one-on-one matchups with Hendrickson. Backup right guard Tremayne Anchrum Jr. also showed why the Rams were adamant that Noteboom had to be the starter at that spot.
Sean McVay was getting criticized for the game plan, and for as bad as the offensive line was, there were execution problems during the game, and McVay did himself no favors in basically feeing Thomas to the wolves.
Plus, the decision to punt on 4th and medium down by 10 points with less than six minutes to go did not benefit the team in any way. The first two plays were downfield attempts followed by a screen to Atwell.
Atwell was the primary focus of the game, and Stafford often looked his way. The speedy receiver also had a 22-yard run on a reverse initially called a touchdown, but was overturned after it was ruled that he stepped slightly out of bounds.
Nacua, on the other hand, was active early, but faded as the game goes on. Nonetheless, that he is racking up the receiving stats is still very impressive for a 5th round rookie.
Burrow threw three times in the direction of Ahkello Witherspoon to poor results: An offensive pass interference penalty on Tee Higgins, an incompletion, and a diving interception where he ripped the ball out of Tyler Boyd's hands.
Donald has been relatively quiet through two games, but he made his presence felt, being the most active pass rusher for the Rams. Ernest Jones IV also made impressive plays that won't show up on the box score, with defensive coordinator Raheem Morris deploying him as an inside blitzer, helping force incompletions from Burrow.
Stafford, however, now has his second straight game with two interceptions, but one of the picks in Week 2 was at the fault of running back Kyren Williams. He has led the league in interceptions since arriving to L.A. (2021), and was on his way last season before the campaign ended prematurely due to injury.
The first pick was on an ill-advised sidearm throw to the middle of the field after he evaded a sack and had a defender bringing him down. The second was on a tipped pass by Mike Hilton at the line of scrimmage. This may be a trend rearing its ugly head.
If they can turn things around at Lucas Oil Stadium when they face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, they'll likely rely on both Nacua and Atwell. They don't have very long to correct things, however.
Scoring
LA Rams, 8:22 1st: Brett Maher 30-yard field goal; 3-0 LA Rams
Cincinnati, 12:55 2nd: Evan McPherson 49-yard field goal; 3-3 Tie
LA Rams, 9:49 2nd: Brett Maher 23-yard field goal; 6-3 LA Rams
Cincinnati, 0:00 2nd: Evan McPherson 53-yard field goal; 6-6 Tie
LA Rams, 10:37 3rd: Brett Maher 42-yard field goal; 9-6 LA Rams
Cincinnati, 5:34 3rd: Joe Mixon 14-yard TD run (Evan McPherson kick); 13-9 Cincinnati
Cincinnati, 3:09 3rd: Evan McPherson 48-yard field goal; 16-9 Cincinnati
Cincinnati, 7:13 4th: Evan McPherson 54-yard field goal; 19-9 Cincinnati
LA Rams, 1:03 4th: Tutu Atwell 1-yard TD pass from Matthew Stafford (Brett Maher kick); 19-16 Cincinnati
Passing
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Matthew Stafford: 18/33, 269 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 6 sacks, 66.4 passer rating
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Joe Burrow: 26/49, 259 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 59.8 passer rating
Rushing
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Kyren Williams: 10 attempts, 38 yards, 0 TD
Tutu Atwell: 1 attempt, 22 yards, 0 TD
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Joe Mixon: 19 attempts, 65 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Puka Nacua: 5 receptions, 72 yards, 0 TD
Tyler Higbee: 5 receptions, 71 yards, 0 TD
Tutu Atwell: 4 receptions, 50 yards, 1 TD
Van Jefferson: 1 reception, 46 yards, 0 TD
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Ja'Marr Chase: 12 receptions, 141 yards, 0 TD
Tyler Boyd: 5 receptions, 39 yards, 0 TD
Tanner Hudson: 2 receptions, 30 yards, 0 TD
Defensive
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Ernest Jones IV: 9 tackles (7 solo), 1 TFL, 1 pass defensed
Aaron Donald: 7 tackles (5 solo), 2 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 sack
Cobie Durant: 6 tackles (6 solo), 1 pass defensed
Derion Kendrick: 6 tackles (3 solo), 2 passes defensed
Byron Young: 5 tackles (4 solo), 3 QB hits, 0.5 sacks
Michael Hoecht: 5 tackles (1 solo), 1 TFL
Ahkello Witherspoon: 1 pass defensed, 1 interception
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Dax Hill: 8 tackles (7 solo), 2 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 sack
Sam Hubbard: 6 tackles (5 solo), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 sack
Cam Taylor-Britt: 6 tackles (5 solo)
Logan Wilson: 4 tackles (3 solo), 2 passes defensed, 2 interceptions
Trey Hendrickson: 2 tackles (2 solo), 2 TFL, 2 QB hits, 2 sacks
B.J. Hill: 2 tackles (2 solo), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 sack
D.J. Reader: 2 tackles (2 solo), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 sack
Team Stats
First Downs: Rams 15, Bengals 19
Passing First Downs: Rams 12, Bengals 12
Rushing First Downs: Rams 2, Bengals 5
First Downs from Penalties: Rams 1, Bengals 2
3rd Downs: Rams 1/11, Bengals 5/17
4th Downs: Rams 1/1, Bengals 1/1
Total Yards: Rams 292, Bengals 309
Yards Per Play: Rams 5/6, Bengals 4.2
Passing Yards: Rams 221, Bengals 242
Team Passing: Rams 18/33, Bengals 26/49
Yards Per Pass: Rams 5.7, Bengals 4.7
Sacks—Yards Lost: Rams 6—48 yards, Bengals 2—17 yards
Rushing Yards: Rams 71, Bengals 67
Rushing Attempts: Rams 13, Bengals 23
Yards Per Rush: Rams 5.5, Bengals 2.9
Red Zone: Rams 1/4, Bengals 1/1
Penalties: Rams 4—28 yards, Bengals 7—49 yards
Turnovers: Rams 2, Bengals 1
Fumbles Lost: Rams 0, Bengals 0
Interceptions Thrown: Rams 2, Bengals 1
Possession: Rams 24:00, Bengals 36:00
Miscellaneous
Venue: Paycor Stadium
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 65,158 (Capacity: 65,515)
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 73°F
Winds: SW 4 mph
Broadcast: ESPN/ESPN2
Commentators: Chris Fowler (PxP), Louis Riddick (color), Dan Orlovsky (color), Laura Rutledge (reporter), John Parry (rules analyst)
Comentários