AP Photo/Matt Rourke
It’s hard to find a silver lining in a Super Bowl loss, but the Cincinnati Bengals got one following Sunday’s 23-20 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams.
Joe Burrow told reporters his knee “feels good” after he grabbed it in pain and limped off the field in the second half.
“I wasn’t coming out,” he added.
One of the biggest storylines of the game was Cincinnati’s inability to block Los Angeles’ defensive front.
Burrow was sacked seven times and under heavy pressure on his way to finishing 22-of-33 passing for 263 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. He was constantly chased out of the pocket, which has been a problem for the Bengals throughout the season.
Burrow took a league-high 51 sacks during the regular season, and the Rams continually exploited this vulnerability.
Much of the credit still goes to that Rams front, as Aaron Donald and Von Miller each finished with two sacks and three quarterback hits. Leonard Floyd, A’Shawn Robinson and Ernest Jones each posted one sack as well.
While Cincinnati’s defense was unable to clinch the Super Bowl with a stop when it was leading 20-16 in the final minutes, the offensive problems proved particularly costly. The Bengals had five possessions in the second half with the lead and stalled for a field goal on one and punted on the other four.
The blocking was a major problem during those stretches.
Kevin Patra of NFL.com noted Burrow had an average of 2.41 seconds to throw and was pressured on 42.5 percent of his dropbacks, which was the second-highest total of his career. That is simply not a formula for victory, even if the AFC representative made it this far with said issues.
Fortunately for the Bengals, it wasn’t a formula for a long-term injury to their quarterback on Sunday.
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