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Joe Burrow got the ball back in his hands with 3:08 left in regulation with his Cincinnati Bengals down 16-13 against the Los Angeles Chargers and marched all the way down the field only for an offensive pass interference call on a would-be touchdown to force a field-goal attempt Randy Bullock missed to assure the loss.
The Bengals couldn’t get out of their own way in the second half as sloppy play and exhaustion took over. Burrow failed to connect with John Ross and A.J. Green multiple times on surefire touchdowns, Joe Mixon fumbled for the first time since 2017 and the Cincinnati defense was visibly gassed near the end of the game after star defender D.J. Reader left the field on a cart due to cramps.
Burrow scored the game’s first touchdown, a 23-yard scamper that flashed some of his renown playmaking ability. But poor offensive line play early and some miscues with his top targets led to a 23-of-36 line with 192 yards and an interception. A bend-but-don’t-break defense held multiple times in bad circumstances though, quite the opposite of what the rebuilt unit showed last season during a 2-14 campaign.
The Bengals don’t have long to dwell on the 0-1 record after the loss, with a Battle of Ohio against Cleveland set for Thursday night on prime time.
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