The Cincinnati Bengals suffered perhaps the surprise of the weekend with an ugly loss to the New England Patriots. Not many had given Jacoby Brissett a chance to win, but new head coach Jerod Mayo kicked off his tenure with success.
However, while questions surround the Bengals’ ability to bounce back in Week 2, their Week 1 performance revealed plenty.
Here’s a look at three big takeaways from the opening contest of 2024.
The Bengals miss Joe Mixon
The biggest concrete takeaway from the game over last weekend was that the team’s former running back is missed. Joe Mixon was allowed to exit the organization, where he found instant success with the Texans. In his first game, Mixon logged 159 yards and a touchdown. Had this stat line been swapped out for Zack Moss it likely would have given the Bengals the win.
Of course, Moss didn’t have an atrocious game by any stretch. In the contest, he earned 44 yards and a touchdown in nine carries. However, he didn’t have a game anywhere close to what Mixon did.
Ja’Marr Chase holdout hangover was real
Ja’Marr Chase took his holdout closer to Week 1 than almost every other player. While he didn’t miss time because of his choice to skip out, he did appear somewhat out of sorts in the contest. Chase logged six catches for 62 yards and zero scores.
With such a sluggish start, one can instantly point to his attendance issues in August. However, as time goes on, the hangover from the holdout should not be a factor all season long. Week 1 and perhaps Week 2 could be a painful experience to get him back into the zone, but once he’s there, he won’t leave it.
Joe Burrow wrist health questions remain
Burrow missed much of the 2023 season due to a wrist injury. After putting up just 10 points in the game, there is reason to question his recovery. Looking at his statistics from the game, Burrow completed 21 of 29 yards, which is a solid completion percentage. However, those passes only went for a total of 164 yards.
For the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback who has thrown for 500 yards in a game, the number posted in Week 1 was strikingly low. Of course, the Patriots have historically been a defensive-minded football team designed to schematically make teams play left-handed.
There’s a chance the scheme by Mayo was simply too good, but it will take future games to know for sure. That said, after one game, it is sensible to have reasonable suspicion.
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