ANALYSIS: 5 takeaways from Bengals’ first win of season

The win put Cincinnati (1-3) back to where it was this time last year while Joe Burrow was working back from a calf injury. This time the Bengals had to break out of a funk of a three-game losing streak to open the season, but now they’ll look to build momentum similar to 2023 when they won four straight games after a 1-3 start.

Here are five takeaways from the win:

1. Offense keeps progressing

The Bengals had about as balanced of an offense as they’ve put on display in a long time, and that helped produce a season-high 34 points.

They ran the ball 31 times for a season-high 141 yards rushing, and they also threw the ball 31 times with Joe Burrow completing 22 of those passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns. Ja’Marr Chase impressed again with a 63-yard touchdown on which he broke several tackles but finished with just three catches. Tee Higgins led with six receptions for 60 yards, and he also drew defensive pass interference penalties on back-to-back plays in the second quarter to help set up a touchdown going into halftime.

Running backs Chase Brown and Zack Moss evenly split carries with 15 apiece, but Brown led the way while enjoying the first multi-touchdown game of his career. He finished with 80 yards and two touchdowns. Moss had 51 yards and a key touchdown reception in the final seconds of the second quarter to give the Bengals a 21-14 lead going into halftime.

Cincinnati then scored on the opening drive of the second half and went up as much as 31-14 in the third quarter.

2. Big plays on defense

The defense struggled last week to get stops, but started off strong this game when Kris Jenkins came up with the tackle on a goal-line stand on fourth down the opening drive.

Cincinnati ended up punting its first drive, but got the ball back in good field position when Vonn Bell intercepted Andy Dalton near midfield on a third-and-8 and returned it to the Carolina 16-yard line. Trey Hendrickson had a hit on Dalton that impacted the throw. That led to Chase Brown’s first touchdown of the day.

The pick for Bell was a bit of a redemption moment against the team that cut him this offseason. Bengals safety Daijahn Anthony also had a redeeming play two weeks after a defensive pass interference penalty at Kansas City allowed the Chiefs to extend their final drive for the game-winning field goal. Anthony broke up a pass on a fake punt play in the third quarter when the Panthers were trying to cut down a 14-point deficit. Instead, the Bengals went on and added another three points and that put the game out of reach.

The defense also closed out the game strong in the fourth quarter, limiting the Panthers to a field goal after Burrow threw his first interception of the season and then forcing a three-and-out that gave Cincinnati the ball back with 4:23 left. Evan McPherson iced off the game with a field goal with 1:14 remaining.

3. Another defensive line injury

The Bengals defensive line just can’t catch a break from the injury bug. Defensive tackles B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins both remained out because of hamstring injuries, and defensive end Trey Hendrickson went down with a neck injury in the fourth quarter. Coach Zac Taylor said he suffered a neck stinger. According to ESPN’s Ben Baby, Hendrickson was seen with his right arm in a sling.

Hendrickson has been the only consistent pass rusher so far.

The good news is defensive end Myles Murphy is eligible to come off injured reserve this week if ready to return from the knee injury he suffered in training camp. Hill was making some progress last week, as well, but was further along than Rankins.

Cincinnati did not get any sacks on Dalton, who finished with 220 yards passing, and the run defense is still struggling. The Panthers rushed for 155 yards, including 104 yards on 18 carries for Chuba Hubbard.

4. Offensive line does the job

Burrow was quick to credit the offensive line after the game, and rightfully so. Not only did the line contribute to the best rushing performance of the season, but the pass protection kept Burrow clean. The Bengals didn’t allow a sack, marking just the fourth time that has been the case in Burrow’s 56 career starts and the first since Week 3 of the 2021 season.

Amarius Mims did well in his first start after taking over at right tackle last week in the second quarter of a loss to Washington when Trent Brown suffered a season-ending knee injury. He repeated one mistake that led to a sack last week but Burrow scrambled out of it, only to misjudge Chase’s route on the pass that got intercepted.

Burrow had plenty of time in the pocket on the throw that Chase turned into a 63-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and he also had one of his longest-time-to-throw plays of his career when he held the ball for 7.31 seconds before finding Moss for a 21-yard gain in the third quarter.

5. McPherson perfect again

After missing an extra point that could have been the difference at Kansas City and missing a 48-yard field goal last week, Evan McPherson was back to his usual perfect kicking, including a 56-yard field goal. McPherson had not missed a PAT or a field goal from less than 50 yards since the 2022 season.

Taylor had given McPherson a vote of confidence earlier in the week when asked if there were any concerns with those unusual misses.

McPherson signed a contract extension in August, a three-year deal he earned with his consistency and ability to make clutch kicks. He’s 5-of-6 on PATs this season and 7-of-8 on field goal attempts.

SUNDAY’S GAME

Ravens at Bengals, 1 p.m., CBS, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7