The No. 1 pick seemed destined for career win No. 1 Sunday evening until a wide-right kick wiped that destiny away.
Long-Awaited Debut
Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback and captain Joe Burrow made his professional football debut by completing nearly 64% of his passes and running – not passing – his first touchdown into the end zone in a 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. “At the end of the day, I made too many mistakes to win the game and we just didn’t make enough plays,” Burrow said. “I missed A.J. on a deep ball, missed John on a deep ball, and threw the interception. That just can’t happen.”
Burrow threw for 70 yards on the final offensive drive to set up First and Goal at the four-yard line with 0:11 remaining. Originally Burrow found A.J. Green to his right for a go-ahead touchdown, but the ruling was reversed following offensive pass interference.
Tough Day
Kicker Randy Bullock was tasked with tying the game with a 31-yard field goal. He had made 46 of 50 from 30-39 yards and 43 of 44 from within 29 yards to that point in his career.
Bullock missed and tended to his left leg following the try.
“Once I started the actual process of the kick that was when it just kind of locked up on me and grabbed,” Bullock said. “Obviously that’s not an excuse. That’s a kick that I make 99 times out of 100. It was a freak deal, I let the team down. I’m really frustrated, disappointed. I don’t know how any of it really led to that.”
CALLED HIS OWN NUMBER FOR HIS FIRST CAREER TD!
📺: #LACvsCIN on CBS pic.twitter.com/PdJzUA4VYj
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) September 13, 2020
The Rundown
Burrow finished with 193 passing yards in his first loss since November 2018. Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram III intercepted the rookie on a shovel pass in the fourth quarter prior to the Bengals’ final drive of the game.
Running back Joe Mixon ran for 69 yards, the second-most of his four season-opening games in which he has played.
Four Bengals receivers caught over 21 yards (Green, Uzomah, Boyd, and Bernard). Chargers and Bengals rookie receivers K.J. Hill and Tee Higgins did not play.
Carl Lawson and Josh Bynes each collected a sack for Cincinnati. Linebacker Germaine Pratt led the Bengals with 12 tackles, including seven solos which were second-most in the game.
“I’m confident in our guys, always have been,” Burrow said. “We have no choice, we play in four days so we’re going to have to get healthy, get our bodies right and get ready to go.”
Cincinnati will have a short amount of time to review tape of the Cleveland Browns ahead of their Thursday Night Football matchup. The two teams met last in the final game of the 2019 season when the Bengals won 33-23.
It will mark the Bengals’ first Thursday night game since Sept. 13, 2018, when they defeated Joe Flacco and rookie Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens 34-23 at home.
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Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
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