After finally managing to string two wins together, the Bengals welcomed the Philadelphia Eagles to town, looking to keep on building momentum. The Eagles were without some offensive starter, but the Bengals were missing Tee Higgins, who picked up a quad injury in practice.
It was a great start for the Bengals, who got the ball to begin the 1st half. They were very methodic. No chunk plays, but on multiple occasions, they were able to move the chains on 3rd down. Mike Gesicki was involved for a couple of nice plays, including a spectacular one handed catch on 3rd down. They eventually got down to the Eagles 2 yard line, and from there, a scrambling Joe Burrow was able to direct Ja’Marr Chase into an open window, before finding him for the TD. 7-0 Bengals.
The two teams traded field goals, which made the score 10-3 in favour of the Bengals. However, it was the Eagles who got the final word in before the half. With good starting field position after a McPherson missed field goal, they went to work. Hurts found AJ Brown for a 17 yard completion on 3rd & 16, which proved to be a turning point. Hurts added 12 yards on the ground to set them up inside the Cincinnati 5. On 3rd down, Hurts finished the job, punching it in from the 1. 10-10 at the half.
Philly kept the ball rolling on the other side of the break. A 15 yard pass to Smith moved the chains on 3rd down and got the Eagles to midfield. Hurts then found Calcaterra for 28 yards. Later on, they found themselves at the Cincy 7. From there Hurts was able to run it in, giving the Eagles their first lead of the game. 17-10.
The Bengals were able to get one back on their next drive. A Joe Burrow 8 yard scramble on 3rd down was just enough to move the chains, and a 13 yard completion to Chase got them another 1st down. Burrow found Chase again, this time for 12 yards, which set them up inside the 10. A couple of plays later, Chase Brown ran it in from 4 yards out. 17-17.
Unfortunately, it was all doom and gloom from that point on, for the Bengals. The bleeding started and they were not able to start it. A 3 play, 70 yard scoring drive for the Eagles was a tough one to swallow. Smith got a step on Jordan Battle, and hauled in a 45 yard TD to make it 24-17 for the Eagles.
The true backbreaker came on the Bengals next drive. They elected to go for it on 4th & 1 from their own 39. Puzzlingly, they had Chase run a route behind the line of scrimmage. Burrow completed the pass, but Chase was tackled for a loss. Philly kicked a field goal soon after, extending their lead to 27-17.
Hurts and the Eagles then went on another TD drive, following an intersection by Burrow. It was for 85 yards and burned almost 8 minutes off the clock. Barkley had his way running the ball, and Hurts was able to cap off the drive with a 1 yard TD run on the QB sneak. The Eagles would add a field goal closer to the end of the game. It finished 37-17.
The Bengals fall to 3-5 on the year, having not yet won a game at home. They will get another chance next week, as they welcome the visiting Las Vegas Raiders.
