Every game is do or die for the Bengals now and no one understands that better than Joe Burrow. He showed that last night in the Bengals 32-14 win over the Baltimore Ravens. While the rest of us were comfortable on our couch letting the turkey coma wash over us, Joe Cool was carving up the Ravens defense to the tune of 261 yards and two touchdowns. The Bengals snapped a four-game losing streak and moved to 4-8 on the year and kept their chances to make the playoffs (about four percent) alive.
Here are the two biggest takeaways from what could be a season-altering win for the Bengals last night.
Burrow is Back Baby!
It was a debate that raged across the sports world and Bengals fandom this week: was it worth it in bringing Joe Burrow back to a 3-8 team whose season was on the ropes? Joe Burrow answered that in press conferences leading up to this game:
“I’m not going to live my life and play this game scared of something happening.” – Joe Burrow
And he looked fearless last night. Burrow moved well, avoided pressure, scrambled when necessary, and took hits and still got the job done. He was rusty in the first half, missing on a few throws but had an amazing bomb to Ja’Marr Chase that instantly reminded everyone just why he is one of the best in the game.
The offense still had plenty of kinks to work out. They took over after a Lamar Jackson fumble inside of the five-yard line in the but failed to gain a single yard, and turned the ball over on downs. Overall in the first two quarters Cincinnati had to settle for four Money Mac field goals when they could have been ahead by so much more. If not for their defense (what a shocking thing to type) it could have been worse than 12-7 going into halftime.
The real Joe Burrow stood up in the second half though. He went 9/14 for 96 yards and those pair of scores. Both were dots that he threaded into the perfect places. Tanner Hudson made the catch of the night on the first one, hauling it in with one hand against coverage by one of the best safeties in the game in Kyle Hamilton.
The second was a rocket to beat double coverage on Andrei Iosivas:
It’d be negligent to talk about Burrow’s big night without acknowledging the contributions of two key units: the running backs and offensive line. Chase Brown had 78 yards and a 5.2 average. The offensive line surrendered a single sack and kept Burrow clean for large parts of the night, which was a question given the differences in style of play between Joe Flacco and Burrow in terms of time to throw and route preferences. They helped ease their quarterback back into form without question.
Last night was a blueprint for exactly why this team needs Joe Burrow on the field. I had my own doubts about him returning, but last night wiped most of them away after seeing how his teammates feasted off the energy he brought to the field in a nationally televised game. He led by example and is just a freak of a human being by not only returning from an injury weeks earlier than most experts predicted but looking dominant for large parts of that return. And he did it without Tee Higgins as well.
Has The Bengals Defense Arrived
Yes we all know the statistics, we’ve seen the graphics and the jokes the pundits have made about Cincinnati’s defense. I’m sure we’ve all made some ourselves, I know I’ve had to check my blood pressure quite a few times watching Al Golden’s boys fold and give games away (Colston Loveland, anyone?).
But last night the defense looked different than it had all year.
It all started with the pass rush. Their pass rush put a 39.5% pressure rate on Lamar Jackson (2nd-highest this season). Joseph Ossai particularly shined with 6 pressures and 2 sacks while Myles Murphy had 5 pressures of his own. Both of them also impacted the game in big ways that flipped the momentum. Ossai forced a fumble and Murphy tipped a pass that fell into the arms of Demetrius Knight Jr.
It was part of a five turnover night where Baltimore, and Lamar Jackson particularly, never looked comfortable. Yes some of those turnovers were a bit fluky, but it was the pass rush and effort at tackling and stripping the ball that put the Ravens in position to make those critical mistakes.
And one of the Bengals who has been criticized the most for a lack of effort and tackling was Jordan Battle. After giving up a big reception to Baltimore tight end Isaiah Likely, Battle sprinted back and slapped the ball out of Likely’s hand and out of the back of the end zone to save a touchdown. Cincinnati converted that drive into a field goal to make it a 10-point swing.
Last night was the best the Bengals defense has looked all year. Yes, they still made mistakes but the biggest difference is that they immediately bounced back and didn’t let the Ravens pile on the big plays. They showed effort and capitalized on every opportunity they had.
That’s now two solid games for Al Golden and his players. Could it be the start of a new trend for this unit? Time will tell, especially with the team traveling to Buffalo next week to take on the Bills and Josh Allen. But Myles Murphy and Joseph Ossai are improving each week, DJ Turner is still in lock down mode, and TJ Slaton and the interior lineman seem able to limit opponents’ running game for big chunks of time.
Yes the margins are slim for any sort of playoff hope and there are questions as to whether this defense can continue to play at such a high level over the remainder of the season. But Joe Burrow is back and the boost he provided this team is undeniable. To put it simply: this team is still in it until they are mathematically eliminated. It is the Joe Burrow effect.
