Joe Burrow’s debut gives Bengals fans reason for hope in defeat

The long-awaited debut of rookie quarterback Joe Burrow ended in a loss for the Cincinnati Bengals. But even in defeat, Bengals fans should take solace that on the afternoon of his first game, Burrow gave them reason for hope.

Looking at the top-line statistics, Burrow’s debut might seem more pedestrian than you would like. The rookie passer completed 23 of 36 passes for 193 yards and an interception, and he added a touchdown run to open the scoring in the first half. However, there is more to his debut than the numbers, and the film shows reason for optimism in Cincinnati.

We can start, however, with mistakes and missed opportunities. Burrow had a chance for his first touchdown pass as a professional early in the third quarter, when on a third-down opportunity he lofted a throw in the direction of talented wide receiver A.J. Green:

This was a chance for the Bengals to extend their slim lead, and it is a throw that Burrow needs to hit in the coming weeks. However, if you had any doubt that this was a competitive kid, you need only look to his comments after the game on this throw:

Then there was the interception, which is a classic example of what not to do as a quarterback in the NFL:

Burrow and the Bengals face a 1st and 10 just outside the red zone, trailing by three with just over five minutes left in the game. Joey Bosa brings some heat off the right edge, and Burrow starts to escape the pocket floating to to his left. Let’s consider the situation. The Bengals are trailing by a field goal and are already in field goal range. Being aggressive is nice, but being smart is a virtue as well. Burrow is outside of the pocket, so throwing the football away is a safe move given the situation. Instead, he tries to force a throw in the direction of his running back and it is intercepted by Melvin Ingram. This is a good example of what not to do.

But as the title of this piece indicates, the rookie gave his team – and his city – reason for hope. Take the first touchdown run of his career:

Sure, the athleticism jumps out at you. However, what should give Bengals fans optimism this evening is the circumstances that led to the score. Look at what happens when Cincinnati spreads out their offense and goes with an empty backfield. The Los Angeles Chargers’ defense plays man coverage behind it, leaving the middle of the field – where Burrow aims his run – open.

Head coach Zac Taylor confirmed in his post game press conference that this quarterback draw was called by Burrow at the line of scrimmage. He audibled into the look after seeing the defense.

Pretty heady stuff from the rookie.

Then there is the final drive of the game. Sure, the Bengals missed out on a chance to win in the closing seconds when an apparent touchdown pass to Green was nullified on an offensive pass interference call. Yes, they missed a chance at overtime when kicker Randy Bullock pushed a 31-yard field goal attempt wide to the right, coming up with a cramp in the process. But the only reason they were in that position was the work that Burrow and the offense did on that drive, which began with Cincinnati out of time outs:

Take this throw, right before the two-minute warning, as Burrow rips an in-cut to John Ross in tight coverage:

Then facing a critical 3rd and 8, still outside of field goal range, Burrow drills in another throw in tight coverage to Tyler Boyd out of the left slot:

Then near the end of the drive, Burrow delivered on his best throw of the game, in my opinion. The Chargers bring a blitz from the second level here, and run a trap coverage on the outside. Burrow has to both stay calm in the face of the blitz and get this out route to the slot receiver out of his hands quickly enough before the cornerback can jump the route.

He does that to perfection:

A tremendous read and throw, showing the processing speed and pocket savvy of a veteran.

Sure, the Bengals lost the game. But the organization did not draft Burrow to win in Week 1. They drafted him to win for the next decade. If this debut – and this final drive – is any indication, they made the right call.