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Behind a dominant, 151-yard performance from Joe Mixon, the Cincinnati Bengals won their first game of the 2020 season. It was another historic day for Joe Burrow as well, becoming the first rookie quarterback to throw for 300-plus yards in three straight games.
You could say things are trending well in the Queen City.
After entering the half down a field goal, the Bengals stormed back with an absolutely dominant third quarter. They put up 17 unanswered points and took a commanding lead into the fourth.
This time, they didn’t look back. The score ended 33-25, and they won their first game of the season.
That said, let’s dive into how the national media ranked the Bengals after their Week 3 tie.
Joe Mixon began his weekend in a hospital with mysterious chest pains. He ended it as the workhorse star for the Bengals, piling up 181 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in a 33-25 win over the Jaguars. Joe Burrow had been carrying the Bengals’ offense before Sunday, and Week 4’s win was a reminder the kid quarterback has an Pro Bowl-caliber running back who can help shoulder the load. Burrow also (finally) got some help from his offensive line. A week after being hit 18 times and sacked eight times in a tie with the Eagles, Burrow was sacked just once by Jacksonville. An encouraging day all around for the Bengals.
The reason it’s this high, of course, is because of their division. Still, Dallas is a botched onside kick away from being 0-4, so there shouldn’t be such a huge gap between the Cowboys and the rest of the division. But Washington’s overall youth and inexperience at quarterback makes it a long shot even in a bad division. If Washington receives more consistent quarterback play, it has a chance. Also: In the past 20 years, Washington has started 1-3 three times and hasn’t yet finished better than 6-10. Of course, that might win the division by a game this year. — John Keim
They are now 1-2-1 and finally got Joe Mixon going against the Jaguars. It will be fun watching Joe Burrow against that Ravens defense this week.
Joe Burrow already had begun to show that he can succeed in the NFL. He demonstrated Sunday that he actually can get the Bengals to win a game. If only they could play the Jaguars every week.
Nothing’s rattled Joe Burrow thus far. We’ll get to see Sunday if a trip to Baltimore will.
They’re moving in the right direction. This weekend against Baltimore, they’ll find out how far they still have to go.
The Bengals are pretty close to being an undefeated team with Joe Burrow, given the close calls with the Chargers and the Browns. But their record reflects their offensive improvements are dragged down by defensive stodginess.