The Cincinnati Bengals have struggled in season openers during the Joe Burrow era and Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Browns was no different. The offense sputtered while the Browns' run game, well, ran rampant. The result was a 24-3 defeat in Burrow's first game as the NFL's highest-paid player.
His No. 1 target, former LSU running mate turned NFL superstar Ja'Marr Chase, was held to a modest 39 yards on five receptions. It's unreasonable to make sweeping takeaways based on one game, but the Bengals certainly didn't live up to the hype.
To make matters worse, Chase made a couple blatantly disrespectful comments earlier in the week when asked about the all-Ohio rivalry.
"It feels like a regular game to me,"Chase said. "It don't feel no different. It's just the whooping and hollering about the Cleveland Browns. I was about to call them the elves. But, yeah."
Big yikes. Browns defensive end Myles Garrett took offense, as anyone would.
"See now that was disrespectful," Garrett said. "He didn't have to go there. The elves was probably … he knew better."
Chase's comments look rather foolish in hindsight. The Bengals are the better team on paper, but the game isn't played on paper. Cincy has a lot of built-up confidence after consecutive deep postseason runs, but the Browns are hungrier. At least, that's how it felt Sunday afternoon.
Cleveland Browns make Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals regret disrespectful comments
Cleveland completely shut down one of football's most potent offenses. Burrow looked lost, completing 14 of 31 pass attempts for 82 yards with zero touchdowns. He ended the game with a 52.2 QBR and was benched in the fourth quarter as the game spiraled out of control.
Chase's middling output can be directly tied to Burrow's struggles, but the offense as a whole deserves blame. The Browns' defense, in turn, deserves a ton of credit. Garrett came up with a sack and two tackles, looking by far like the winner of this particular exchange.
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for Cleveland — Deshaun Watson's 154 yards, one touchdown, and one interception on 16-of-29 passing didn't exactly elate the fanbase — but the Browns' run game pummeled the Bengals to the tune of 206 combined yards. Nick Chubb led the way in typical workhorse fashion with 106 yards on 18 carries.
With another 16 weeks of football on the horizon, fans would be wise to avoid overreactions. The Bengals will probably be fine, and no, Burrow hasn't forgotten how to throw. That said, this is a lesson to the Bengals and to young ballplayers everywhere: don't talk the talk unless you can walk the walk.