Cincinnati got back into the win column last week in New Orleans. Returning home to face another NFC South opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, the Bengals were looking to build on positive steps that they were able to make last week. But they would have to do it with another key piece of the defence out, in Logan Wilson.
It was about as good a start as the Bengals could have had. Burrow hit Tyler Boyd for 11 yards on the opening play from scrimmage, and found him again for a 60 yard long bomb TD only three plays later. 7-0 Bengals.
Unlike the first drive, the Bengals’ second one was more slow and methodical. Joe Mixon and Ja’Marr Chase each had a relatively big gain on the drive, and Hayden Hurst made a solid catch as well. They were able to get the ball to the 1 yardline after a 14 yard play to Boyd. On 3rd down, Joe Mixon plunged it in for the score.
Cincinnati got the ball back after a quick three and out by the Falcons offence. The passing offence continued to have success. Burrow hit Chase, Boyd, and Higgins back-to-back-to-back in a three play sequence. A 32 yard Ja’Marr Chase TD followed. Burrow dropped a dime down the right sideline, as Chase got by the defender. It was a whopping 21-0 lead for the Bengals.
Down 21, the Falcons wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t a particularly inspiring drive for the defence. After crossing the 50, Atlanta was able to pick up chunk yardage on multiple runs. Allgeier, Huntley, and Mariota all got in on the action. Eventually, they got down to the 1 yard line, where Allgeier was able to punch it in. 21- 7 Bengals.
Burrow and the offence continued their dominance on the next drive. He found Hurst, Boyd, and Higgins for big gains. The drive ended with Ja’Marr Chase’s second TD catch of the game. It was a 41 catch and run. 28-7 Bengals.
Following the Bengals fourth TD, they did have a bad stretch that was at least a little cause for concern. Funny enough, that stretch lasted only 49 seconds. On the first play from scrimmage after the TD to go up 28-7, Eli Apple was burned by Byrd on a deep route. Mariota hit him in stride for the 75 yards TD. The Bengals got the ball with 39 seconds left, but had to punt with 20 seconds remaining in the half. A big punt return for the Falcons set them up at the Bengals 25 with 3 seconds left in the half. Their field goal attempt was good and, suddenly, it was 28-17.
To open the second half, a Bengals turnover on downs at the Falcons 27 was sandwiched between two Atlanta punts. On their second drive of the half, the Bengals offence continued to move the ball. After some shorter gains, Burrow found Boyd for 24 and then Higgins for 22 yards, which set them up at the 1. On 2nd down, Burrow ran the QB sneak for the TD, making it 35-7.
The Falcons would punt on their next two drives, and a Bengals punt was sandwiched between them. On the final drive of the game, the Bengals started at their own 3 yard line. They went on a 17 play drive, going 94 yards down the field and draining the remaining 8:44 that was left on the clock. They could have added another score, but with the Falcons having no remaining timeouts to stop the clock, they instead lined up in victory formation and Burrow took a knee to close it out. 35-17 final.
The Bengals improve to 4-3 and remain tied for 1st in the AFC North with the Ravens, who also won on Sunday. The Bengals will travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns in a week 8 Monday Night Football matchup.
Modified Homescreen Image Via: Erik Drost (CC)