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Bengals 34 Cardinals 20
My opening thoughts.....
What calf? Joe Burrow looked like his old self as he teamed with JaMarr Chase for three touchdowns and the Bengals got a had-to-have-it win, 34-20 over the Arizona Cardinals. The Bengals are now 2-3, Just a game back of Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Mobile Joe: Burrow was able to roll, slide, jump, 360 spin with ease. Scrambled 10 yards and slid. 36-46-317-3 TD/INT, 3 sacks. He started 10 for 10. INT came on a Trenton Irwin slip.
Record day: Chase had 15 catches on 19 targets for 192 yards and 3 TD. He broke Carl Pickens’ single-game franchise record of 13 catches on October 11, 1998 against Pittsburgh. All on a day where defense could focus on him without Tee Higgins playing.
Dime: Burrow hit JaMarr Chase for a 63-yard TD off play action on the third play of the 2nd half….24-14 Bengals. He had all day to throw. It followed a Mixon 6-yard run. Per NFL Next Gen: it’s the most air yards for any TD in Burrow’s career.
Drive time: Leading 24-20 in the 4th, the Bengals rolled 15 plays/83 yards (8:55) and capped it with Chase’s third TD.
Offense
3 TD passes = No. TD offense scored in the first four games combined.
1st drive: 11 plays/64 yds. Burrow slid/found Chase 2 yd TD.
1st first half TD of year. 1st halftime lead of season.
Trenton Irwin: 6-80. 2 catches opening drive. Just missed a flea flicker deep ball.
Mixon: 25-81
No 0 points/13 play drive to AZ one hard line after 6 straight Mixon runs (5-6-6-3-0-0)
3rd down issue, again: Three 3rd down sacks. Major interior line issues.
Perimeter blocking was good….especially Irwin.
Irv Smith Jr. 50 snaps/0 targets
Momentum flipper: Trailing 14-10, the Bengals were stopped on 4th and goal with 1:37 left in the half. Arizona took over on their one-yard line. But Josh Dobbs threw a Pick-6 (his 1st INT 137 attempts) to CTB to give the Bengals a 17-14 lead they never surrendered.
Defense
Cam Taylor Britt Pick 6!
Germaine Pratt surfaced w/ his best game of the season. 10 TKL, INT. 2 4th D stops.
Big! Leading 24-20 late 3rd, Pratt stopped Dobbs on 4th & 1 at Bengals 17.
Hendrickson 2.5 sacks.
Hendrickson stripped/Hubbard recovered in the 4th QT.
Opening drive sack: Dax Hill off the edge/Trey Hendricson helped clean up.
Jordan Battle 3rd down PBU and 3rd down QB hit. Got 2nd H snaps over Nick Scott.
DJ Turner big/sure tackles....55 of 57 snaps.
More missed tackles. Secondary in chaos.
Chunks: Brown 25-yard TD. 35-yard Conner run. Moore direct snap for 41 yards.
Missed picks: Hendrickson a Pick 6. Wilson. Turner. CTB.
Cardinals marched 11 plays/75 yards for TD following Burrow to Chase TD
Special teams
Irwin PR of 25 and 14
McPherson 40, 40 FG. He nailed the goalpost twice on kickoffs.
Robbins 59 yd punt: 16 yard return + 15 yard personal foul on new guy Devin Harper
Miscellaneous
No Tee Higgins, Chido
Bengals won the toss and deferred
Per Jay Morrison: The Bengals are 21-2 in their last 23 games with a defensive TD.
Since 2011, when Bengals score 25+ they are: 68-6-2
The Bengals had been 0-4 all-time in Arizona.
Burrow was visibly ticked at Trayveon Williams for miscommunication on a botched play. Burrow pointed to his helmet with both hands.
Kwamie Lassiter was a game captain and caught his 1st NFL pass with less than a minute left. His late father played for Arizona.