On Sunday Joe Burrow again put the Bengals in position to win, this time rocking the NFL's No. 1 defense with a 24-point first half that got wiped out by Colts quarterback Philip Rivers' Night at the Hall of Fame Museum performance during Indy's 31-27 come-from-behind victory.
Rivers was supposed to be done. Relegated to the Hall of Fame and letting the Colts' No. 1 defense take over. Complete with a Johnny U. watch.
But the Bengals defense let the bronze bust come to life as Rivers proved even a 38-year-old game manager can wake up the long ago echoes long enough as long as he's not touched to lance you on 371 yards, 29 of 44 passing and three-on-the-money touchdowns.
He got hit three times. He got sacked once. That's it. That's how he had his biggest game in more than two years. That's how he had Bengals free safety Jessie Bates III fuming about another give-away touchdown at the end of the half.
A third-and-10 dime with 15 seconds left and 17 yards away that Rivers dropped on wide receiver Zach Pascal to make it 24-21. Bengals cornerback LeShaun Sims pressed him off the line and was close, but not close enough. Not for Rivers. It conjured up memories of the gaffe at the end of the half in Philly three weeks ago. Carson Wentz's 29-yard floating wide-open TD pass with 16 seconds left in a game they ended up tying.
"Philip Rivers is a Hall of Fame quarterback. I know he is a little older now, but he's a Hall of Fame quarterback and I feel like the whole game, he knew exactly what we were in," Bates said. "Every ball that he threw was almost out of bounds and only where their receivers can catch it. Props to Philip Rivers. I think for us as a defense, I mean we have to take that as a challenge.
"Our offense takes a 21-0 lead – 21 points should be enough in this league. I think they went a 31 to four run on us. I take all of that on the defense. Everybody is going to look in the mirror and look at what they can do better. I can be better, the leaders on this team can be better, the younger guys can be better. That is what it is."
As Bates called out himself and his DBs, Burrow called out himself with answers shorter than the time the Colts had the lead. Less than 15 minutes.
"I mean, I played really well for three quarters and 14 minutes and then one bad play and wasn't able to convert," said Burrow of Colts rookie safety Julian Blackmon's interception at the Indy 10 with 39 seconds left.
The good ones are always toughest on themselves. What more can a rookie do after his fourth 300-yard game and half of his first six NFL starts generating at least 27 points and throwing up the most passing yards (313) and total yards (398) against the Colts this season.
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October 19, 2020 at 08:33AM
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Bengals Put No. 1 Defense On Ropes, But Can't Knock Out Colts - Bengals.com
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