:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67452124/usa_today_14944654.0.jpg)
The Cincinnati Bengals dropped to 0-2 last Thursday night.
There were several positives that came from their 30-point performance, but it still wasn’t good enough to go into Cleveland and come out with a victory.
Burrow ended with 61 attempts and now holds a rookie record with 37 completions. With three touchdowns, he looked like the real deal and gave the Bengals fanbase the hope needed to weather any storms this season causes.
The Bengals are the only winless team in the AFC North now as both Baltimore and Pittsburgh will be without a loss entering Week 3. But, they certainly aren’t the worst in the NFL like they were a season ago.
That said, let’s dive into how major media placed the rankings following the NFL’s second week.
Here are the power rankings for Week 2:
The good on Thursday night was Joe Burrow, who didn’t blink in his prime-time debut and kept the Bengals in the game by continuing to march the offense for four quarters. Burrow didn’t throw an interception across an astounding 61 attempts — that’s unheard of for a rookie making his second career start. Things are less promising on the other side of the ball, where an offseason of investment has not panned out to this point. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt devoured a Cincinnati run defense playing without Geno Atkins and Mike Daniels. The pass rush wasn’t much better: Baker Mayfield was pressured on just three attempts, per Next Gen Stats.
C.J. Uzomah was turning into a surprisingly viable fantasy target before he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Look for Sample to take Uzomah’s spot and take advantage of a more varied passing attack with rookie quarterback Joe Burrow. Last year, the Bengals didn’t have a player rank in the top 25 in average points per week in standard or PPR leagues. Uzomah was in the top 15 and averaging 11.4 points in PPR scoring through the first two weeks. — Ben Baby
And maybe there should be a hue and cry to bench Joe Burrow given the “protection” he’s getting ... otherwise, rook is off to a stellar individual start.
They lost to the Browns, but they have to be thrilled with what they have in Joe Burrow. He is going to be a star.
Joey Burrow is good. The rest of his team, save Joe Mixon, is not.
I don’t think the Bengals will sit in this bottom third for long. Joe Burrow is tough and Cincinnati is going places with their 2020 No. 1 overall pick.
Burrow got next to no help from the ground game, as running back Joe Mixon averaged less than three yards per carry on 16 totes. Neither player got any help from an offensive line that was repeatedly blown off the line of scrimmage. Cincinnati’s defense was gashed for over 200 yards on the ground and 434 yards total. And Burrow averaged only 5.2 yards per pass attempt.