It’s still early in the season, but an embarrassingly poor outing Sunday in a 48-10 loss at Minnesota did not help deter negative outside noise that followed news of Burrow’s third surgery in six seasons.
Bengals players and coaches insisted there was still plenty of confidence in the team’s ability to win with Browning after Burrow went down with a Grade 3 turf toe injury in a Week 2 win against Jacksonville. However, Browning threw two interceptions, including a pick-6 that seemed to set the tone for a bad day in the first quarter, and the Minnesota Vikings took advantage of a sloppy performance by the visitors to send Cincinnati home with its worst loss in franchise history.
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. Browning struggles continue
Browning was the hero last week when he led the Bengals on a game-winning drive over the final four minutes and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds left. However, he was quick to point out after that game that he was fortunate to be able to get a win despite throwing three interceptions.
Nothing about his performance Sunday was better. His pick-6 on the second drive put the Bengals in a 14-0 hole early, and they never recovered. Browning was hardly the only problem, but the Vikings seemed to frustrate him with heavy blitzing early, then didn’t have to respect the passing game. That enabled them to focus on shutting down the run, and they did that, too.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
It’s only Week 3, but the Bengals’ offense was built for Burrow, and Browning needs to show the system can still work with him under center. He did enough to get four wins in the final six games of 2023, but Cincinnati will have a tough time bouncing back next week in a Monday Night Football game at Denver.
2. Sloppiness with giveaways
Five turnovers cost the Bengals on Sunday. They could overcome three interceptions last week, while the defense got two takeaways, but Minnesota scoring touchdowns directly off two turnovers and getting points out of the ensuing drives after the other three put Cincinnati in too deep of a hole to climb.
Three lost fumbles – by Ja’Marr Chase, Noah Fant and Samaje Perine – in the final two minutes of the first half completely deflated the team going into halftime, down 34-3. Browning’s second pick early in the second half was the nail in the coffin.
Thirty-one of the Vikings’ 48 points came off turnovers. Cincinnati had two other fumbles it recovered.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
3. Lack of support for Browning
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said in his post-game press conference that “nobody was good, no one did (enough) to support Jake (Browning).”
The offensive line took plenty of blame last week when Burrow went down on his second sack of the day and never returned, and it didn’t look much better when Browning took three sacks Sunday.
But, just as concerning is the lack of a running game, which was too easily shut down Sunday and has been slow producing this season. Cincinnati invested mainly in offensive linemen who were good in pass protection, but the run-blocking was noticeably bad. Chase Brown had 10 carries for just three yards, and the Bengals finished with 53 yards rushing.
The defense, meanwhile, struggled to stop the run, as Jordan Mason finished with 116 yards and two touchdowns. Fatigue might have played a role, as the defensive players did not get much time between drives before having to go back on the field while the offense struggled to move the ball or hold onto possession.
Minnesota finished with 352 yards, compared to 171 yards for the Bengals offense, which hadn’t recorded four turnovers in one half since the 2022 season opener against Pittsburgh, a game in which Burrow had four interceptions and a lost fumble.
Cincinnati made Vikings backup quarterback Carson Wentz look like a star, as he completed 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions. One bright note was that the Bengals got three sacks without Trey Hendrickson getting to the quarterback, but that didn’t stop Minnesota from scoring 48 points. Kris Jenkins had 1.5 sacks, sharing one with Myles Murphy, who was needed for more snaps with Shemar Stewart out, and Joseph Ossai had one sack.
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