CINCINNATI – The Falcons reached the end of a difficult stretch on Sunday in Cincinnati, with consecutive games against the Buccaneers, 49ers and Bengals.
They had a positive result and an unwelcome entering this game against the AFC champs, with a chance to go over .500 for the first time in a long time. That goal wasn’t achieved.
The Falcons lost 35-17 to the Cincinnati Bengals here at Paycor Stadium, falling to 3-4 overall on the season.
Let’s take a look at what stood out in this Week 7 contest:
Falcons can’t slow Joe Burrow
The Bengals went up big early and were up three scores again late. Game context didn’t seem to matter. They never stopped throwing.
The Bengals have a strong ground game behind Joe Mixon, and this seemed like a setting for 35 runs. But the Bengals were were content to attack, attack, attack through the air with an in-sync combination of quarterback Joe Burrow, receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins and tight end (and former Falcon) Hayden Hurst.
It wasn’t a truly fair fight, not without Casey Hayward (on IR) and A.J. Terrell (more on him below) and Dee Alford (out with injury). Burrow was able to execute well-timed short and intermediate routes that produced big yards after the catch.
Burrow finished with a massive yardage total and passer rating in this one, where Cincinnati played right into the Falcons defensive weakness. Atlanta had been decent stopping the run, but the Bengals didn’t even strive for balance. The Falcons were able to apply pressure and get sacks, but Cincinnati didn’t seem to mind. They kept on throwing and completing passes to great effect, often enough to prevent realistic thoughts of a Falcons comeback.
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