adminIf you stopped watching at half time, you probably would’ve guessed Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow put together a dominant game against the Seattle Seahawks.
He completed 18-of-22 passes, including 15 in a row at one point, for 143 yards and two touchdowns in the first two quarters. The second half was an entirely different story.
Joe Burrow on the offense: “We were horrible in the second half.”
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) October 15, 2023
He completed six-of-13 passes for 42 yards and an interception, a cause for justifiable frustration despite coming out on top. “Not where we want to be,” Burrow said of the offense. “We’ve had we’ve had moments, but we just got to put it all together. So we’ll evaluate this week and go from there.”
The troubles began in the second quarter when the Bengals punted twice and moved the chains once in their final two drives of the half. They cascaded into shades of the first month of the year when points were at a premium.
Burrow threw an uncharacteristic interception into tight coverage. His offensive line started breaking down and surrendered three sacks. The run game was inept and unreliable to lean on when it mattered.
Evan McPherson’s 52-yard field goal gave the Bengals the four-point lead they needed to fend off the Seahawks, but even that was a result of a three-and-out following the Bengals’ second interception of the day. The Bengals nearly didn’t do enough, and Burrow knows. “A win’s a win,” Burrow said. “Like I said, I’ll never apologize for a win.”
“But win or loss, there’s always room to improve.” Now six games into the season, Burrow is healthy enough for the offense to start functioning as expected.
It needs to do so if they are to compete against the elite teams ahead on their schedule. The San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills are the Bengals’ first two opponents following their Week 7 bye.
The week off will help Burrow heal and rest even more, as well as provide time to reflect on how to avoid further sluggish outings. It’s clearly the mindset going forward for Burrow, win or lose.
Ashleigh James
admin
