We’ve heard all week that the winless Cincinnati Bengals were not their record and that they would be coming into Bank of America Stadium hungry to finally crack the win column. However, they would not be facing a hapless Carolina Panthers team. Instead, they would be facing a squad who took a gigantic leap toward establishing their identity under first year head coach Dave Canales. With Bryce Young benched, veteran Andy Dalton executed the offense to perfection and had Panthers fans looking forward to Sunday for the first time in a long time.
[The Panthers started strong on the opening drive, which included a 29-yard bomb to Diontae Johnson. They churned all the way to the 1-yard line but came away empty-handed. On their next possession, Dalton’s pass was tipped, then intercepted by Vonn Bell who is back with the Bengals after a one season stint with the Panthers. Bell returned the interception to the 11-yard line, setting up the first of Chase Brown’s two touchdowns of the day and the Bengals cracked the scoreboard first. Carolina responded with a diverse 11-play drive and Chuba Hubbard tied the game up with a 3-yard run up the middle. While Carolina’s offense seemed to find their stride, so did Cincinnati. The Bengals scored on their only two drives of the second quarter, taking another short lead on a 63-yard pass play to Ja/Marr Chase who raced for over 50 yards after contact to put the Bengals up 14-7. The Panthers responded on the next drive as Dalton hooked up with rookie Xavier Legette for an 8-yard score, and the first touchdown of Legette’s young NFL career. Burrow went to work from his own 34 yard line with a little over 1 minute left before the half. In addition to a 29-yard chunk play, the Bengals got a little help with Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson flagged for pass interference, placing the ball at the 4 yard line after a 17 yard penalty. One play later, Jaycee Horn was flagged for the same thing, putting the ball in play at the 1. Two plays, and a Zack Moss touchdown later, the Bengals took a 21-14 lead into halftime.
The Bengals picked up where they left off, driving 71 yards on the opening drive of the second half and doubling their lead to 14. The Panthers sputtered their next two possessions, turning the ball over on downs after Johnny Hekker faked the punt but Feleipe Franks could not hold on to the pass. Cincinnati took advantage of the favorable field position and tacked on another field goal. A 21-yard touchdown strike to Johnson brought the Panthers within 10 and Eddy Pineiro added a field goal after Burrow was intercepted by Xavier Woods. They would get no closer, with Evan McPherson sealing the deal with a field goal to give the Bengals their first win of the season, 34-24. Dalton could not quite replicate the magic of last week, but did pass for 220 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. His counterpart Burrow threw for 232 yards and added two touchdowns and an interception also. Brown added two scores for the Bengals on the ground while Hubbard led the Panthers with 104 rushing yards and a touchdown. Carolina hits the road to face Chicago next week, hoping to add another to the win column.
