CLEVELAND, Ohio - Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow met with reporters Sunday after Cincinnati won its season opener, 17-16, over the Browns at Huntington Bank Field.
Burrow finished 14 of 23 passing for 113 yards and one touchdown. He earned an 87.8 passer rating.
The Bengals produced just 7 yards of offense in the second half.
On the first half vs. second half
“Defense stepped up in the first half. We were really rolling on offense.
“First half, it was great. And then the second half, all facets of the offense just weren’t good enough.”
One particularly troubling sequence occurred with approximately nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, when Burrow endured three consecutive sacks. When asked to walk through that momentum-killing series, Burrow recounted how Browns star Myles Garrett was able to bend around the edge and track him down on the first sack. By the third sack, Burrow was just trying to avoid a safety, diving out to the 2-yard line as the pocket collapsed around him.
“Everybody on offense knows that second half today was not good enough. We’ll address it.
“Anytime you can win like this, kind of steal one. So we stole one today and have to do that.
“We didn’t win any of these games last year,” Burrow said. “And so usually when you can win a game like this, that’s a recipe for success. It means you’re going to need a good team and you can find a lot of different ways to win.”
On the Bengals defense
Burrow praised their performance while acknowledging the importance of seeing it translate from practice to gameday:
“You can see it in practice, but, you know, practice doesn’t matter at the end of the day. You can make as many plays in practice as you want, but if you go out there on Sunday and don’t make any plays, then that’s all that really matters.”
On the Browns defense, corners helping the pass rush and vice-versa
“It all works together,” Burrow explained, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between Cleveland’s coverage and pass rush. “Their corners are two of the best in the league. I don’t think any other team has a better tandem than they do.”
“And then they do a good job figuring out ways to get their guy 95 (Myles Garrett) in one on one situations. Playing man coverage, being sticky. So you have to hold on to it a little longer, try to get guys open, and then by the time that happens, usually 95 is there. So their whole scheme works together.”
On where he ranks Garrett among NFL edge rushers:
“It’s tough to find anybody better than that.”
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