Cincinnati Bengals: 3 quick takeaways from loss to Bears in Week 2

The Cincinnati Bengals lost what felt like a lifeless game to the Chicago Bears and now sit at 1-1 on the year. It was a rough loss after a promising start to the season but fans weren’t surprised by the outcome at all considering how up and down this franchise has been in recent years.

Let’s take a look at three takeaways from the loss to Chicago.

Offensive Line Struggled

There’s really not a nice way to put this — The offensive line stunk. Joe Burrow had a bad day but in his defense, he was getting pressured on what felt like every snap. He ended the game getting sacked four times and hit seven times total.

It felt like the Bengals had to be a little more conservative on offense with play-calling and that was because the team didn’t want Burrow getting hit anymore than he already was. If this team wants Burrow to be the long-term quarterback of the organization, the pass protection has to be better than it was on Sunday.

Not good. Not good at all.

Trey Hendrickson Looks Worth the Dough

There weren’t a ton of positives from this game but one that I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out was the performance of newbie pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson, who made his mark on this game. Hendrickson got in on the action throughout, totaling 1.5 sacks and really being a force on defense.

https://twitter.com/BengalsMarisa/status/1439663316612358147?s=20

Some debated if the Bengals paying Hendrickson more than what Carl Lawson got in free agency was the right move and while it’s still super early in the season, the early returns look good for Cincy. Hendrickson was one of the few bright spots from this game and was part of the reason this game was even somewhat close.

Bengals Fought Back

After Cincinnati looked lifeless throughout most of the game, there was some fight in them near  the end. Joe Burrow threw three interceptions on three straight throws but then he connected with Ja’Marr Chase for a touchdown and also hit Tee Higgins in the end zone to make the game a little closer.

While the defense couldn’t stop Justin Fields and the Bears offense in the waning minutes, it was good to see some fight from this team after not showing much of anything for a good chunk of the day.

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