The Cincinnati Bengals came out firing against the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve, running up a 22-0 halftime lead before faltering wildly, then winning in the final moments, 22-18.
An ugly second half followed a dominant first, but either way, that makes the Bengals winners of seven in a row, the latest a strong showing against a team that didn’t look ready to play.
Along the way, there was at least one notable injury, as expected for a December game in freezing conditions. But a road win in the AFC is hard to complain about, especially as it keeps the team on pace for the conference’s top seed.
Here’s a look at the initial notes and numbers to know.
Quick Hits
— Joe Burrow on the team’s first drive of the game: 4/4, 73 yards, 1 TD. One deep pass to Tee Higgins for nearly 40 yards, one more for the touchdown. Way too easy.
— Evan McPherson missed the extra point after the first TD. Concerning, as pregame reports suggested he looked off in warmups.
— Second offensive drive, Burrow hits Trenton Irwin for a touchdown on a four verts look that diced the defense.
— McPherson missed again. So, 12-0 instead of 14-0 and sudden major concerns about the kicker in late December. Is it the below-freezing temperatures or something else?
— La’el Collins suffered a very serious-looking injury.
— McPherson got back on track with a 28-yarder to make it 15-0.
— Burrow’s lone first-half mistake was an interception in which it looked like Tyler Boyd just stopped his route, the likely culprit a misread coverage.
— Three touchdowns for Burrow in the first half. The third came with a handful of seconds left, a contested catch and second touchdown for Irwin.
— The second interception for Burrow actually went back for a touchdown. This one was another weird miscommunication, this time with Chase. Weird to see from either guy. Burrow was involved in a collision trying make the tackle, too, that appeared to injure teammate Samaje Perine.
— Cam Taylor-Britt got beat badly on a touchdown in the fourth. About what anyone should have expected from him — learning on the fly in coverage, very good against the run.
— McPherson missed a field goal in the fourth quarter with the game 22-12, adding to the concerns.
— Brutal sequence of events in the fourth. Refs decided on a Cincinnati challenge that what probably should have been a game-deciding defensive touchdown wasn’t. Patriots then got a flukey touchdown before a missed PAT…
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