PHILADELPHIA _ After Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and his first-team offense zipped through the Eagles’ backups on his two possessions for two touchdowns on nearly 10 yards per play, Eagles backup quarterback Tanner McKee threw for 252 yards in a little more than a half during the defending Super Bowl champions' victory in Thursday night's preseason opener at Lincoln Financial Field.

Burrow threw touchdown passes to All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and tight end Tanner Hudson while running back Chase Brown added 48 all-purpose yards on eight touches.

A high-stepping 32-yard punt return by Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton set up Evan McPherson’s 36-yard field goal with 5:19 left in the third quarter that cut the Eagles' lead to 27-17. Cincinnati mounted a late comeback attempt, as linebacker Joe Giles-Harris' interception led to a 51-yard from McPherson and quarterback Desmond Ridder found Hudson for a 12-yard score to make it 34-27. The Bengals turned the ball over on downs out of the two-minute warning, giving the ball back to Philadelphia and ending the game.

NOTES

Burrow Goes Nine-for-10 in First Quarter

As indicated earlier this week by head coach Zac Taylor, Burrow and the rest of the offensive starters played the entire first quarter, which consisted of 17 total plays on two full possessions.

Burrow completed nine of 10 passes — including a streak of nine straight completions to close out the period — for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He completed at least one pass to four different receivers, including reigning "Triple Crown" winner Chase, who hauled in four catches for 77 yards with a 36-yard score.

Burrow previously had attempted just eight passes in two career preseason games. Of his nine completions on Thursday night, five went for gains of at least 10 yards.

Offense Opens with 71-Yard TD March

Cincinnati won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, allowing for the offense to compile a 10-play, 71-yard drive ending in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to tight end Tanner Hudson.

The Bengals initially had found the end zone two plays earlier, as Burrow escaped the pocket and hit Chase for what appeared to be an early score. Cincinnati was flagged for holding on the play, however, backing up the offense to first-and-goal from the Eagles' 21-yard line. It proved to be a speed bump in an otherwise efficient drive, as Burrow connected with Charlie Jones for a quick nine-yard pickup before the touchdown toss to Hudson.

Thursday marked the second straight preseason opener in which Burrow engineered an opening-drive touchdown. In the 2024 preseason opener against Tampa Bay, he completed five of seven passes for 51 yards and finished it off with a scoring pass to Tee Higgins, in what was both players' only action of the preseason.

Joe to Ja'Marr Regains the Lead

Chase caught a quick pass from Burrow on an out-pattern, evaded a tackle attempt by an Eagles defensive back and turned upfield for a 36-yard touchdown to put Cincinnati ahead 14-7 late in the first quarter. The play capped off a five-play, 65-yard drive that took just two minutes and 32 seconds of game time.

Chase's touchdown catch marked his first score in an NFL preseason game. He entered the night with one reception for 16 yards in the preseason, which came in his 2021 rookie year at Tampa Bay.

Burton's Return Sets Up McPherson FG

Jermaine Burton corralled a Braden Mann punt at the Bengals' 45-yard line and shook off multiple Eagles during his 32-yard return, setting up Cincinnati's offense at the Philadelphia 23. The Bengals cashed in four plays later with a 36-yard field goal by McPherson, his first attempt of the preseason.

Burton returned two punts for seven yards in the 2024 preseason, then did not have any punt returns during the regular season.

Giles-Harris Pick Leads to Evan's Second

Giles-Harris came up with the Bengals' first turnover of the preseason, when he brought in a deflected pass by Eagles quarterback Kyle McCord at the Philadelphia 37-yard line. Giles-Harris sprung off the turf and originally appeared to return the pick for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 34-23, but after review he was deemed down by contact.

The Bengals converted the takeaway into three more points, as McPherson booted a 51-yard field goal four plays later.

Giles-Harris spent one week on Cincinnati's practice squad late last season, then signed to Jacksonville's active roster and played in the Jaguars' final two games.

Extra Points

The Bengals' captains on Thursday night were linebacker Oren Burks and defensive end Cam Sample. Burks made his Cincinnati debut after spending the 2024 season with Philadelphia, while Sample returned to game action for the first time in nearly 19 months after missing the'24 campaign due to an Achilles injury.

Defensive tackle Taven Bryan logged Cincinnati's first sack of the night when he dropped Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee for a loss of seven yards midway through the second quarter. The sack pushed Philadelphia back to third-and-20, and ultimately forced an Eagles punt two plays later.

Hudson found the endzone again late in the fourth quarter on a 12-yard pass from Ridder. Hudson finished the night with six catches for 62 yards and two scores. Ridder found WR Jamoi Mayes on a 48-yard bomb to set up the score.

QUOTES

"I liked the fight. These guys came back and they gave us a chance at the end. That, I appreciate. But there's a lot of things that we've got to fix and correct as a team. That's not one unit, that's not one person, that's not one position. It's a whole team effort that we've got to fix in order to win our next game." - Head coach Zac Taylor, on the team's overall performance

"It's just good to play football again. The more reps you get at it, the better you're going to be at it. I think we got 15 reps tonight, so we're 15 reps better." - Quarterback Joe Burrow, on the offensive starters playing the entire first quarter

"That was our mentality coming out -- start fast, play fast, get the offense rolling, get some momentum on our side." - Tight end Tanner Hudson, on the offense scoring two touchdowns on its first two possessions

"I was just trying to take it all in, it was a great feeling. I had been waiting for it my whole life. I was shocked a little bit, and I had to bring myself back to reality a little bit." - DE Shemar Stewart on playing in his first NFL game