The Bengals shoved first Sunday with Joe Burrow’s dominating 17-play touchdown drive, but the Eagles got in the last push in a 37-17 win at Paycor Stadium.
Philadelphia used its notoriously high-percentage "Brotherly Shove," short-yardage formation, also known as "The Tush Push," to convert the game-tying touchdown on a third-down goal-line scrum that ended the first half at 10. And when the Bengals couldn't convert their own third-and-one and fourth-and-one from their own 39 late in the third quarter down, 24-17, the game was decided.
"We can play with anybody. We've just got to find ways to close games out," said slot cornerback Mike Hilton. "We went into halftime feeling good, right where we were. We know we're able to come out in the second half and compete. But we didn't make plays when we need to, and didn't get off the field when we needed to and it came back and bit us in the end."
The Eagles had to be saying that in the first half because they couldn't get Burrow off the field, as he converted seven straight third-down attempts.
With injured wide receiver Tee Higgins (quad) inactive, tight end Mike Gesicki stepped into the role. His first five catches for 58 yards converted five of those third downs as the Bengals built a 10-3 lead 20 minutes into the game while running 16 more plays than the Eagles.
Burrow hit his first seven passes and his first seven third-down passes, the last one a remarkable escape from two potential sacks on third-and-22 that turned into Gesicki's 24-yard-catch-and-run. Burrow finished the half with a 100.9 rating on 16 of 23 passing for 169 yards.
He cooled to finish with a season-low 84.7 rating on 26 of 37 for 234 yards, to go with a touchdown and an interception. The interception was a fluke tip downfield, and he had a pass for a first down dropped.
Gesicki converted one of those third downs with a now-viral one-handed diving grab working towards the left sideline one-on-one with cornerback Avonte Maddox. If Maddox didn't know Gesicki is the kind of tight end who can fill in just fine at receiver, he does now.
"Joe put it there in a perfect spot given the coverage and where the defender was," Gesicki said. "He put it where I could only go get it. It's been a year or two since I made a one-handed catch. That one was fun."
Gesicki finished with seven catches and a team-high 73 yards, 24 of them on that crazy conversion as Burrow made the blitzing outside linebacker Josh Sweat and edge Bryce Huff miss. Gesicki set up near the right sideline so the scrambling Burrow could see him.
"That was all Joe," Gesicki said. "Just using his legs like he did on a couple of plays today. That was all him. He deserves all the credit."
Gesicki reprised his seven-catch game in Kansas City in week two, the last game Higgins missed. True to his style, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio didn't let the Bengals go deep. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had a season-high nine catches for 54 yards, none longer than 13.
"It was going to be a collective effort. Not one person is going to replace what Tee does for the offense and the player that he is, so it was a collective thing," Gesicki said. "I think everybody deserves credit in that because there were a lot of different personnel and people doing different stuff (with a) lot of communication in the huddle. Everybody deserves a lot of credit for that."
The one wide receiver who did break one longer than 13 on was rookie Jermaine Burton’s 41-yard go ball down the right sideline for his only catch of the day. But it resulted in Evan McPherson’s hooked 54-yard field goal attempt that would have put them up 13-3, with 5:08 left in the first half. From that point, it was Eagles, 34-7.
What changed?
"I think the flow of the game," Gesicki said. "We were behind at that point. That kind of dictates what you have to do. Unfortunately, they made a couple of more plays than us. That's just how it finished up."
ZAC TAKE
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor went for it on fourth-and-one in the last minute of the third quarter from his own 39 down, 24-17. Two minutes before, Taylor saw the Eagles take the lead on the Eagles' weekly obligatory touchdown bomb, this one for 45 yards from quarterback Jalen Hurts to wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
"I felt like we needed to be aggressive there. It didn't work out, so that's frustrating," Taylor said. "I put that on myself. It was a situation where we felt like we needed to be aggressive and get a score on that possession given we were down seven. Anytime it doesn't go well, obviously, you've got to think long and hard about that decision."
The call on fourth-and-one was a screen to Chase in the right flat as he came in motion across the formation. He was all by himself as rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean spilled him for a two-yard loss.
"He's one of the options. The play didn't work, and that's 100 percent on me," Taylor said.
OFF THE FIELD
Hilton, one of the defensive leaders, said the key Sunday and the rest of the way is getting off the field on third-and-10. In that crucial last drive of the half where the Eagles tied it at 10, Hurts converted a third-and-16 over the middle to wide receiver A.J. Brown on the way to the tying touchdown.
"We just have to find ways to get off the field. Third-and-16. We have to get off the field somehow, some way," Hilton said. "It can't be a conversion on a third-and-10-play. We're way better than that. We've got to be better than that for us to have any shot."
Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt was covering Brown in man-to-man, but the Bengals were in a zone on that play where eight dropped and three linemen were rushing. The thinking is the pressure gets there before a receiver has time to set up at the first-down sticks. Bengals sack leader Trey Hendrickson was doubled on the play, and Hurts had time to find Brown.
"We ran a zone coverage and he ended up getting a seven route. But other than that, I don't think he did too much," Taylor-Britt said of Brown's five catches for 84 yards. "As far as on the other side, we tried to contain (Smith) as well, putting a body on a body, trying to get pressure, but we've got to get there."
The Bengals didn't sack Hurtsx, and backup edge Joseph Ossai had the lone hit on him. It didn't come on the explosive touchdown to Smith. Smith ran through the middle of a zone and Bengals safety Jordan Battle had good enough coverage to hand fight with Smith until Smith's hands beat his at the end.
"We were in the quarters concept and he made a great play on a great ball," Hilton said. "We've just got to find ways as a DB to make that play. We really did what we wanted to. We contained them on the run until late, and they made explosive plays at the right time."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Burrow reflected on what turned out to be huge play in the game.
It came on third-and-three from the Eagles 9 on the second series, when it looked like the Bengals had another touchdown and Burton had his first in the NFL to put the Bengals up, 14-3.
Burrow floated a flag route to Burton and he had a step on cornerback Darius Slay. But at the last instant, Slay stuck his right hand in between Burton's two hands and stayed with it all the way to the ground to knock it out and force a field goal.
"I think I left that one a little short," Burrow said. "He almost made a great play on the ball. They doubled Ja'Marr, ran the linebacker out to cover the flat to the right. I just tried to give him a chance." …
Eagles safety Sydney Brown checked into the defensive huddle for the last series, where the Bengals had turned to Burow backup Jake Browning, and he handed it off three times to Sydney's twin Chase for ten yards to finish the game. The highly anticipated tackle never happened. But they didn't have to go far for the postgame hug.
They broke down and ended their week-long cold war when the Eagles got in here Saturday night.
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