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Ben Baby, ESPN Staff Writer
CLEVELAND — In the span of less than 30 hours, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow experienced one of the greatest highs and the biggest lows the NFL can provide.
One day after signing his record-breaking contract extension, Burrow threw for a career-low 82 yards in a 24-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns. He completed 14 of 31 passes for no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Before Sunday, his lowest yardage total was 148 yards in a Week 11 win against the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021.
“Obviously, not up to our standard, not up to my standard,” Burrow said after the game.
Burrow and Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson had to contend with a wet, misty day off Lake Erie. Watson wasn’t very effective, either. He was just 16-of-29 passing for 154 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Both quarterbacks finished with a completion percentage over expectation worse than minus-12%, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Burrow failed to complete a pass of 10 or more air yards for the first time in his career, per ESPN Stats & Information. It also was the first time Burrow finished a game with fewer than 5 passing yards per attempt.
Burrow toggled between wearing and removing a glove on his throwing hand throughout the game. He didn’t lean on the conditions for an excuse for the loss.
“When it is raining like that it is something that you got to handle,” Burrow said. “We didn’t handle it today.”
The bigger factor might have been the lack of practice time Burrow had during training camp because of his strained right calf. He missed nearly six weeks with the injury he suffered July 27.
In the season opener, Cincinnati’s offense struggled to communicate. Bengals offensive lineman Ted Karras said it was “poor.” Wide receiver Tee Higgins, who had zero catches on eight targets, took the blame for the lack of sync on some of the throws from Burrow.
Burrow said his calf felt “good enough” Sunday but acknowledged that the time he missed played a role in the blowout loss.
“Those things happen when the quarterback doesn’t perform in training camp,” Burrow said. “That was obviously something I would have liked to have done, but no excuses. Obviously, not very good today.”
With Sunday’s loss, Burrow remains winless in three games at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Cincinnati has not won in Cleveland since 2017 and now has lost six straight road contests to the Browns for the first time in franchise history. Overall, the Bengals have dropped eight of their past 10 matchups in the Battle of Ohio.
To compound the defeat, the loss came after some midweek banter between the clubs. In a media session leading up to the game, Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase referred to the Browns as the “elves,” a reference to the team’s mascot, Brownie the Elf.
“It’s frustrating because I called their ass ‘elves’ and we just lost to some elves,” Chase said. “I’m pissed on my part. I’m pissed on that end.
“We had missed opportunities. We didn’t capitalize on that s— and we lost.”
Cincinnati is no stranger to slow starts. The Bengals lost the first two games last season when Burrow was still feeling the effects of his emergency appendectomy. The team finished the regular season by winning eight straight games and making a run to the AFC Championship Game for the second straight year.
Sunday’s performance came one day after Burrow signed a five-year contract extension worth up to $275 million. The deal gives Burrow the highest average annual value in NFL history. The fourth-year quarterback said nobody is panicking after another season-opening loss.
“Week 1 doesn’t define anybody’s season,” Burrow said. “Obviously, not very good out there. Anybody that watched saw that.
“But we have been in this spot before and come back stronger and had great years. That’s what we are going to do.”
Source: www.espn.com