CLEVELAND — Joe Burrow is right. The season is not defined in Week 1. We know that. And we know that the Bengals are much better than what they put on display in a 24-3 sleepwalk of a loss to the Browns on Sunday.
But the bigger point is maybe the Bengals shouldn’t need a wake-up call.
That’s where attitude comes in.
The Bengals need to be the aggressor and there was that vibe in the locker room that the Bengals were too passive on Sunday, assuming the right plays and breaks would come to them.
The play that sticks out more than any other is the 4th-and-3 in the second quarter when the Bengals were driving to the Browns 38.
It was 3-0 Browns at the time and Zac Taylor believed this game – one played in a heavy drizzle that made ball security a major issue – would be decided on winning field position.
“I think playing in our division, it certainly is, and playing in that weather it absolutely is,” Taylor said. “It’s two-fold there and again, as a team we just didn’t do a good enough job of handling that.”
To that point in the game, the Bengals had started three of their first four drives inside their own 20. The Browns had started three of their first four drives beyond their own 40.
Instead of going for it, Taylor decided to punt.
“We were hopeful to not get a touchback there obviously and flip the field position,” Taylor told me. “It’s a long field goal with those conditions, which we were just discussing. We just needed the field to flip in our favor to punch in some of those points. Unfortunately got a touchback there.”
Brad Robbins’ punt landed inside the five and crept into the end zone for a touchback that netted just 18 yards in field position.
The Bengals had a chance in Cleveland territory on their first drive but decided to punt from midfield.
In all, the Bengals drove into plus territory on just four of 13 full possessions. They punted 10 times. They missed a field goal once, converted a field goal once and turned the ball over on downs on the other. The Bengals’ offense wasn’t flat Sunday. It was flat-out depressing.
How bad was it?
Joe Burrow had the worst statistical day of his career, going 14-for-31 with just 82 yards. The Bengals were 2-for-15 on third down. Tee Higgins had no catches on eight targets.
“We know who you are at the end of the day,” Higgins said. “What we just displayed, that’s not us. We all know that in this locker room. Our defense played their asses off. Defense played good enough to where if we had executed on offense, we would’ve been in the game.”
“It’s one week. Obviously, not up to our standard, not up to my standard. Got 16 more. Just got to keep trucking,” Burrow said.
It was a miserable day for the offense, obviously. But the real lesson to be learned from Sunday is that sometimes you have to identify those moments and force the issue. When the offense badly needs a kick in the backside, it’s up to coaching staff and play-caller to provide one.
That was the biggest takeaway from Sunday.
Despite all of the downplaying of rust and rhythm, to expect Joe Burrow to be 100 percent out of the chute playing against perhaps the most dominant pass rusher in the game in Myles Garrett is unrealistic.
“It’s just some Week 1 stuff that happens everywhere,” Burrow said. “You see it across the league. That’s something that everybody has to get cleaned up. We have to get it cleaned up and we will.”
Myles is a force 😤
📺: #CINvsCLE on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/31ds5BgCvN— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 10, 2023
“Nobody is panicking here,” Burrow said. “Week 1 doesn’t define anybody’s season. Obviously, not very good out there. Anybody who watched, saw that. But we’ve been in this spot before and we’ve come back stronger and had a great year. That’s what we are going to do.”
"Week 1 doesn't define anyone's season." Joe Burrow pic.twitter.com/GARB9v4M68
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) September 10, 2023
When you have fourth down and short yardage to gain in the opponent’s territory, you need to be able to convert. The Bengals have rebuilt their offensive line with the purpose of protecting Joe Burrow but also being able to win in the trenches.
Sunday, they didn’t lose that battle as much as they avoided it. If the Bengals are going to be who we think they are, then they need to win that battle in the trenches and empower every player in stripes that they are going to be the tougher, more physical team to impose their will.
The Bengals don’t want to be a team that goes for it in desperation, which is what 4th-and-4 at their 31 was in the fourth quarter. That’s a pretty easy read for Myles Garrett to pin his ears back and get to Burrow. That’s what happened and the Browns sealed the game with a touchdown on the ensuing short field.
Myles getting it done against his favorite opponent
try a triple team next time pic.twitter.com/JMyKzTnaRy
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 10, 2023
“That this certainly isn’t the team that we’re going to be. We all understand that,” Taylor said. “There’s going to be some things that we have to learn from this game and we’re going to be in another type of game like this, whether it’s weather, or it’s on the road and things aren’t going our way early.
“We just have to stick together. This is a team that knows that. On our end, we all understand that. We’re going to quickly put this one behind us and go have a great performance at home next week.”
