Instant analysis after Bengals score 34 unanswered to take down Bucs

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The Cincinnati Bengals entered the second half of Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers down 14 points and ripped off one of the biggest comebacks of the season to win, 34-23.

A slow start had the Bengals looking absolutely nothing like the team that had ripped off five straight wins entering Sunday. Missing key names like Trey Hendrickson didn’t help, but the Joe Burrow-led offense was sloppy and the defense got gashed.

But that changed in a hurry.

The Bengals ripped off 34 unanswered to steal the win, forcing multiple turnovers while the offense got gritty in an almost AFC North style to steal it.

Exiting the game, here’s a quick look at some notes and key numbers to know.

  Quick Hits

— Burrow’s woes with tipped passes continued on the opening drive. A superb drive was ruined by an interception off a tip at the line of scrimmage. He leads the league with 26 of those and five picks off tips. It’s a problem they’ve yet to clean up and why some of these games that should be blowouts have been nail-biters.

— Defense got steamrolled down the field before tightening up in the redzone and limiting the damage to a field goal. Bucs smartly called a ton of quick-hitters with motion and it tore up the unit starting two rookies at defensive back and missing their top edge rusher.

— Same story on ensuing drives. The Bengals were trying to cover their rookie defensive backs with more passive play-calls and Brady just bullied it, helping Mike Evans reach the 70-yard mark in the first quarter.

— Rough day for the offense until the final drive of the first half, too. But that final drive of the half was a beauty that suggested more to come. Burrow throwing a short pass underneath without timeouts was a major whiff, but three points to get on the board helped. Tampa Bay couldn’t handle the tempo look.

— Bengals got a huge break after halftime as the Bucs tried a fake punt and failed. But the Bengals could only get three points out of it, yet another missed opportunity.

— Burrow suffered a pinky injury on his throwing hand. Sam Hubbard was declared out with an injury, putting even more stress on a line already without Trey Hendrickson.

— Bengals got another huge break when Tre Flowers made an incredible interception of Brady, which the offense then turned into a touchdown as Burrow connected with Tee Higgins.

— Of note in a 17-12 game, Bengals were forced to burn one of their three timeouts when officials didn’t reset the ball properly. In the moment, it could amount to nothing — or everything, later. Zac Taylor lit into the referees for good reason.

— How about another huge break? DJ Reader punched the ball out of Brady’s hands, defense recovered. Burrow eventually hit Tyler Boyd for a touchdown, then Higgins for the two-pointer.

— How about another? After the Bengals took the lead, Brady and Leonard Fournette fumbled a handoff and Reader recovered.  Burrow hit Chase for a touchdown to make it a 27-0 run.

— One more? Germaine Pratt picked off Brady, who was hit as he threw.

— Up 10, Joe Mixon really started breaking out as a rusher while the offense milked the clock, with some nice sledgehammer attempts from Samaje Perine.

— Bad news? Rookie corner Cam Taylor-Britt suffered a shoulder injury and was quickly ruled out, a potentially very serious problem for the final three games of the season.

— Tampa native Mitchell Wilcox caught Burrow’s fourth touchdown pass to put the game out of reach.

  Key Stat

34-0: Cincinnati’s run from the end of the first half to nearly the end of regulation. Just a ridiculous swing as the better team adapted and started snowballing the momentum.

  Game Balls

Ja’Marr Chase: Every catch was a tough one with some gritty running after it, even the touchdown in the fourth quarter. He finished with seven catches for 60 yards and the score.

DJ Reader: One of the league’s most underrated players was at it again, especially in the second half. He was in on two turnovers, personally recovering one.

  Top Takeaway

Gritty: Even down 14 this one didn’t feel that bad, not knowing this is the same squad that came back twice against the Chiefs last year. They don’t quit and the coaches generally make superb halftime adjustments. The comeback really isn’t that shocking. It’s another statement for those who don’t know and a good way to get a jump on the AFC North though.

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