Three down look: Bengals lose to Browns 35-30

The Battle of Ohio kicked off week two of the NFL season as the Bengals lost to the Browns 35-30. Baker Mayfield came out firing on the opening drive and never looked back. He improved to 4-1 in his career against Cincinnati.

Joe Burrow completed 37 passes, which is a rookie record, finishing with 316 yards and three touchdowns. Here are a few things that stuck out in this prime-time shootout.

First Down: Defensive line spread thin

The Bengals defense struggled against the Browns offensive line. Cleveland ran for 215 yards and three touchdowns on 35 attempts. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt showed why they are the best running back duo in the NFL. 

The Bengals were without defensive tackles Geno Atkins and Mike Daniels, which made things much worse. 

Mayfield watched the Bengals march down the field to start the game and decided to one-up his rival with a 4-for-4 start capped off by a Chubb touchdown. The makeover Cleveland went through in the trenches paid big dividends in the passing game throughout the night. Mayfield was pressured on three drop backs per NFL Next Gen Stats and the line didn’t give up a hit or sack all night long. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski did a great job mixing in play-action and rollouts to give Mayfield easy looks.

The Browns dominance in the run game was on full display during their final scoring drive where Hunt and Chubb ran the ball on all six plays for 75 yards and a touchdown. Chubb finished with 124 yards and two scores. It was his 12th 100-yard outing in his first three seasons, second in Browns history to Jim Brown’s 19. Burrow kept hope alive all night long, but the defense let it slip away.

Joe Burrow shows the primetime moxy

Burrow continues to show why the Bengals selected him with the No. 1 pick. Not only did he set a rookie record, but he continued to battle despite getting hit all night long.

He fought through a dreadful performance from the offensive line to keep the Bengals in the contest, answering the Browns offensive barrage. He had a costly fumble in the third quarter, as Myles Garrett got to him untouched. He kept his composure, despite the turnover. Burrow rarely put the ball in harm’s way through the air and zipped tight-window gems like this one all night long.

Burrow had no choice but to be the complete offensive engine for Cincinnati. Joe Mixon struggled to find any daylight, notching 46 yards on 16 carries. 

Burrow found a nice rhythm with his tight end duo, keeping the chains moving time and time again. The Bengals went 5-for-5 on fourth down attempts.

Drew Sample and C.J. Uzomah combined for 11 catches, 87 yards, and one touchdown. Uzomah went down with an injury late in the game so Drew “Security Blanket” Sample could start to gain traction.

The stats are great, and Burrow proved his mettle, but this is not sustainable. Asking a rookie to drop back 61 times just to keep hope alive can’t be the plan. Zac Taylor and his staff have to find a way to mask the offensive line issues, both in the passing game and on the ground.

Offensive line caps ceiling

The Bengals first game of the season without Xavier Su’a-Filo has Cincinnati’s offensive line situation at DEFCON 1. Fred Johnson stepped in to replace Su’a-Filo at right guard and got crushed all night.

Johnson gave up a sack in the first half, playing on his heels all night against the Browns interior. It quickly became evident why he never pushed for any of the starting jobs in training camp. Johnson wasn’t the only problem. Jonah Williams had a holding penalty that killed a drive in the second quarter and the line as a whole struggled with stunts from the Browns.

Burrow took a beating at First Energy Stadium, as Cleveland sacked him three times. He was knocked down nine times. Burrow has shown strong durability throughout his career, but 19 hits combined through two games can’t become a season-long trend. Su’a-Filo won’t be available for at least a few weeks and Jim Turner is running out of options. 

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