ANALYSIS: 5 takeaways from Bengals’ comeback win at Saints

Cincinnati took its first lead with just under two minutes left on Joe Burrow’s 60-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase, and the defense forced a turnover on downs so Burrow could kneel out the clock on the final play. The Bengals improve to 3-3 and move into a tie for first in the AFC North thanks to the Ravens’ loss to the Giants.

Here are five takeaways from the win:

1. Burrow-Chase connection is back

The much-anticipated return of Burrow and Chase to the Bayou State for the first time since they won the 2019 NCAA championship lived up to the hype.

Although it was another slow start, Burrow passed for 300 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a 19-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and Chase finished with 132 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches, including the game-winner, which he took to the house 50 yards after the catch.

The Bengals scored on their last four drives, excluding two kneel-downs at the end of halves, and Burrow completed 11 of 12 passes in the second half for 179 yards and two of his touchdowns.

2. Hendrickson redemption

Defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who was playing against his former team for the first time, was in need of a little redemption after he was called for roughing the passer on a third-and-25 from the New Orleans’ 23-yard line on the opening drive of the second half.

The free first down for the Saints, after the 9-yard catch, ended up leading to a long drive and enabled the hosts to extend their lead to 23-14 on a Will Lutz field goal.

Hendrickson came up big later in the game, though. With the Bengals trailing 26-24 in the fourth quarter, Hendrickson hit Dalton’s arm as he was attempting a pass that fell incomplete, forcing the Saints to punt with 2:10 left. The Bengals scored on the next play with Burrow’s touchdown pass to Chase.

Hendrickson finished with three tackles, two quarterback hits, a tackle for loss and a pass defense.

3. Defense does enough

It wasn’t the best game for the Bengals on defense, but they still have not allowed a touchdown in the second half of a game this season. No other team can claim that feat.

New Orleans, playing without its top three receivers, burned Cincinnati’s secondary at times and rushed for 228 yards; however, after scoring two first-half touchdowns, the Saints were limited to four field goals on four trips to the redzone and they punted and turned the ball over on downs their final two drives.

Dalton threw five passes for 15 yards or more, and the Saints had three runs longer than 20 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown for rookie undrafted college free agent Rashid Shaheed in the second quarter. Alvin Kamara ran for 99 yards on 19 carries, including a 24-yard run, and Taysom Hill had a 31-yard carry.

The Bengals forced the three-and-out with Hendrickson’s help in the fourth quarter, and the final drive on defense was shut down with help of a sack by B.J. Hill and Sam Hubbard to force a fourth-and-17 after New Orleans had crossed midfield. Dalton was aiming for Marquez Calloway on the final pass, and it was on target – with Eli Apple getting tripped up in coverage -- had it not been knocked out of bounds by rookie Dax Hill.

4. Offensive progression

Cincinnati punted its first two drives and had just one first down on those possessions, plus another punt in the first half, and the Bengals once again found themselves in an early hole. It didn’t help that a special teams turnover – when Trent Taylor fumbled a punt return – led to a short field and allowed the Saints to take the first lead.

But, the Bengals did what they’ve been doing and climbed back with the help of some first-down efficiency and redzone success – areas that have been struggles this season.

They were 3-for-3 in the red zone, and coach Zac Taylor in his postgame press conference credited the offense’s success from the second quarter on to bigger plays on first downs putting the team in better positions.

5. Boyd and Higgins made plays too

Tee Higgins was questionable because of a sprained ankle and didn’t start but had some important catches that went under the radar because of Chase’s big day. He finished with 47 yards on six catches, and two catches for 25 yards in the fourth quarter to extend a scoring drive.

Tyler Boyd also stood out a week after Taylor and Burrow indicated they needed to get him the ball more. He had six catches for 66 yards on six targets, including a long of 21 yards and a crucial third-down catch that set up Burrow’s rushing touchdown. He also had a third-down reception in the fourth quarter on a drive that ended in an Evan McPherson field goal to make it a two-point game.