Bengals Takeaways: Joe Burrow Struggles, Offense Nowhere to be Found in Week 1 Loss

Cincinnati is 0-1 for a second-consecutive season.

Author:
Mike Santagata
Publish date:
Sep 11, 2023 9:35 AM EDT

In this story:

An opening day loss to the Browns is certainly not the start that Bengals fans were anticipating.

Every offseason comes with excitement about the team. From what they could be this year, how they've improved, and how the new additions are going to hit the ground running. Similar to last season, it felt as if all of the excitement died in the first few quarters. A putrid offensive performance and disgusting special teams play led to another opening day let down for the Bengals. Still, let's look at this game through clear eyes and discuss some of the good and the bad from the wet, miserable day.

Weather Problems

Ja'Marr Chase — © Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The weather was an issue for the Bengals in this game. That's not an excuse for how poorly they played offensively, but it will be hard to replicate these conditions going forward. Joe Burrow couldn't figure out the rain and how he needs to adjust to grip the football. It was a contributing factor in his worst game as a pro.

You can really throw out a lot of this game due to the weather, but one thing that's worth looking at moving forward is how this team adapts to their star quarterback having a rough day.

Yesterday, it felt as if the Bengals offense had no answer for their quarterback having an off day and that's tough. Every stadium in the AFC North is outdoors. They only have one game in a dome this season. When the weather is an issue, this team needs to be able to have a workable offense. Joe Mixon averaged roughly five yards per carry before the Bengals pulled Burrow, but it was inconsistent. They only had a 23% success rate while running the ball, which is in the bottom 10% of the NFL.

The run game sparked a drive (that the Bengals squandered), but it was not enough to be the engine of the offense. There was a lot of talk about how they're going to be able to implement the shotgun offense as often this season, but it didn't work that way in Week 1.

Joe Burrow's Worst Performance

Related to the weather, Burrow had the worst performance he's had in stripes. Finishing with just 82 passing yards is unacceptable in any conditions. He didn't turn the ball over and was only sacked twice, but he was hit 10 times on 33 drop backs.

He couldn't figure out the grip he needed on the ball and was historically inaccurate. Burrow's -0.48 EPA per play and -18.2 Completion Percentage Over Expected are numbers that he may never touch again.

He looked rusty, he looked unsure of what he was seeing, and he looked rattled as the game went on. I would not expect this going forward, but it's worth noting for the game and why the offense struggled so much. This offense is going to go as Burrow goes and yesterday he was horrendous.

Defensive Stand Outs

Dax Hill Interception — © Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The defense was lights out early on. Without any help from the offense, the defense only allowed 13 points over three quarters. They were the reason this game was close for a majority of the contest.

Germaine Pratt had a fantastic game, as he forced a fumble, had a sack, tied for the team lead in tackles, and made two tackles for a loss. The new safety duo in Nick Scott and Dax Hill looked solid as well. Scott tied for the team lead in tackles and did a good job limiting the Browns explosive opportunities as the deep safety. Hill filled the stat sheet as well with two tackles for loss, a pass breakup, and his first career interception. Trey Hendrickson had a nice day as a pass rusher with one sack and another quarterback hit, while Sam Hubbard and DJ Reader played well against the run.

Reader also batted a pass and collected a quarterback hit. The defense came out of the gates strong with a very promising performance.

Special Teams Issues

The special teams unit was a disaster in the rain. There was a penalty on a punt return, a kick return that was 10 yards short of a touchback, a punter (Brad Robbins) averaging 40 yards per punt, a missed kick and a botched snap.

This led to six different possessions that started inside of the Bengals 25-yard line. The Browns had four such possessions. Pro Football Reference calculated this difference is special teams as about 8 expected points. It's very difficult to win football games when you're giving up more than a touchdown with your special teams unit.

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