The Cincinnati Bengals, unlike the week prior, didn’t get a chance to pull away from the Seattle Seahawks during their Week 6 encounter, a 17-13 victory.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense started hot, finding Ja’Marr Chase all over the field and scoring a quick 14 points, before falling off completely.
But the game devolved into a bit of a tug-of-war from there, especially with the Bengals defense giving up chunk plays on the ground and through the air while seeing extended time on the field.
The Bengals now hold a 3-3 record going into the bye week.
Here’s a look at some quick analysis and stats to know right after the game went final.
Quick Hits
- Yet another brutal start for the Bengals defense as it coughs up 11 plays for 75 yards with Geno Smith completing all five of his attempts en route to a touchdown.
- Six different receivers with at least one catch for the Bengals offense on their opening drive, a master class from Zac Taylor and Burrow, who went 9-of-11 with seven straight.
- Second drive, Burrow marches right down the field for a touchdown, this time to Andrei Iosivas.
- An amazing moment, as Yoshi’s first touchdown catch comes on his birthday, with Burrow making sure the rookie got the ball.
- Burrow first interception came on the opening drive of the second half, a 50-50 ball to Ja’Marr Chase the defender made a nice play on.
- Huge point swing on the Mike Hilton pick in the third quarter. Seahawks were in a goal-to-go situation and set to get at least three points and leave with zero.
- Bengals get another stop in a goal-to-go rep, giving off shades of last year when the defense had to bail out the offense consistently.
- Orlando Brown Jr., starting left tackle, was on the sidelines for the drive near the start of the fourth quarter with Cody Ford playing in his place.
- Cam Taylor-Britt capped off another breakout performance with a fourth-quarter interception.
- A borderline unbelievable moment with just two minutes left — fourth-and-goal with the score 17-13, Sam Hubbard and the defense get the sack to prevent points again.
- Just a terrible bit of situational football from the offense with a 15-second drive when it matters most.
- Actually unbelievable — with the game on the line, Hubbard and Co. do it again on a fourth down, causing the pressure that ends the game.
Key Stat
3-of-11: Just another rough day for the Bengals on third down. The offensive line called the struggles on short-yardage spots “embarrassing” this week and did it again, with one notable failure in the fourth quarter while the team was up just one point.
Game Balls
QB Joe Burrow: He was clearly back to form — at least in the first quarter–zipping around the defense and doing pretty much whatever he wanted. The two touchdown drives were surgical and the interception was shared blame. The struggles after that are concerning but not world-ending.
CB Cam Taylor-Britt: It sure feels like CTB is going to be a good one for a long, long time. He had a brutal assignment against DK Metcalf all day and held his own — even coming up with a pick in the fourth quarter.
Top Takeaway
Thriller: This one was never going to be easy. The concerns — defense giving up chunk plays and offensive inconsistency — remain. But the Seahawks are a very, very good — and uncommon — opponent, even at home. Now the Bengals are right at .500 and have a week of rest for Burrow’s calf and otherwise to get right.
