Instant analysis after Bengals lose to Ravens, Joe Burrow suffers injury

— Missed tackles and bad angles plagued the defense on the opening drive of the game, a continuation of the struggles from last Sunday. Baltimore marched 75 yards down the field in less than five minutes for an easy score.

— Bengals burned multiple timeouts over their first two offensive drives because guys who aren’t usually in on offense were part of the issue getting aligned in time. The absence of Tee Higgins, among others, was a big deal in more ways than simple production.

— Cam Taylor-Britt keeps emerging, this time with a huge pass breakup on a deep shot that would’ve been a score.

— Tanner Hudson also emerging again, this time with a couple of huge catches in the first half.

— Bengals started a second quarter drive from their own 18-yard line and despite a delay of game and false start, marched down the field and scored.

— Joe Burrow came up shaking his hand after the touchdown pass there. Things quickly spiraled out of control from there, with Burrow unable to grip the football on the sidelines, eventually leaving the field for the locker room with the team declaring him questionable to return.

— Near the end of the first half, tackling issues and a pair of questionable penalties on Bengals defenders led the Ravens down the field to take a 21-10 lead.

— Jake Browning actually led a very nice drive down the field to start the second half, though the unit had to settle for a field goal. Meanwhile, the team officially ruled out Burrow.

— Taylor-Britt was quickly ruled out with a quad injury.

— Browning had flashes, but like most backups, held the ball too long, too often and it caused problems.

— Even with the game still in reach, the Bengals defense totaled seven explosive plays allowed, with an inexperienced secondary and veterans making odd mistakes guaranteeing this one would go in Baltimore’s favor.