ANALYSIS: 5 takeaways from Bengals’ loss to Chiefs

Cincinnati is 0-2 for the third straight year and for the fifth time in Zac Taylor’s six seasons.

Here are five takeaways from the game:

1. Penalties were costly

The Bengals finished with eight penalties for 79 yards but two of them proved more costly than others.

Anthony had good coverage on Rashee Rice on fourth-and-16 with 48 seconds left, but the officials deemed he made early contact as the pass fell incomplete. That pushed the Chiefs to the Bengals’ 36-yard line and that was close enough for Butker to win it.

Earlier in the fourth quarter when the Bengals were driving, Ja’Marr Chase was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after arguing with the official at the end of a 4-yard reception on second down. Referee Alex Kemp said in a Pro Football Writers Association pool report inquiry that Chase used abusive language after trying to argue he was brought down on an illegal hip-drop tackle.

The officials disagreed with Chase’s viewpoint and reaction, and that put Cincinnati in a third-and-22 instead of third-and-7. Mike Gesicki caught a 10-yard pass, and the Bengals settled for an Evan McPherson field goal but getting more from that drive would have forced Kansas City to score a touchdown to win.

2. Improved performance on defense

After giving up 171 yards rushing to a New England team that wasn’t much of a passing threat, the Bengals played a much better game defensively in Week 2.

The Bengals allowed Mahomes just 151 yards passing, and although the Chiefs finished with 149 yards rushing, it felt like they carried out their gameplan about as well as they could have hoped against a top offense.

Cincinnati forced three turnovers, including a Cam Taylor-Britt one-handed interception of Patrick Mahomes and a Sheldon Rankins’ forced fumble that Germaine Pratt recovered in the first half and an Akeem Davis-Gaithers interception in the first half. The Bengals also had another interception, picked by DJ Turner, that was negated by an Anthony pass interference penalty, but Taylor-Britt’s takeaway came shortly after that anyway.

3. Injuries on defensive line continue

Both Sheldon Rankins and BJ Hill exited the game with hamstring injuries, leaving the Bengals without many options late in the fourth quarter. Rankins left early in the third quarter, then returned seven minutes later and went down again midway through the fourth quarter. Hill had left in the second quarter and was declared out by halftime.

Taylor told reporters after the game there was no update on either injury. Zach Carter and Jay Tufele ended up called upon more than expected as a result.

The Bengals already have been decimated by injuries to their defensive line with Cam Sample on injured reserve with a season-ending Achilles tear, Myles Murphy and McKinnley Jackson on injured reserve-return for at least the first four games and Kris Jenkins Jr. inactive due to a thumb injury.

Trey Hendrickson still was a beast as usual, finishing with two sacks and three quarterback hits a week after applying pressure but not being able to finish his quarterback pursuits.

4. Burrow delivers more optimism

Burrow calmed some of the concerns that came up after such a poor offensive showing in the opener. He finished with 258 yards passing and two touchdowns with no interceptions, and a highlight was a 47-yard, deep pass to rookie Jermaine Burton on the first offensive play of the second half. That helped set up a touchdown to regain the lead for the Bengals.

The fifth-year Bengals quarterback was criticized last week for not throwing much beyond the sticks. He also had three other deep pass attempts, one that was a 19-yard completion to All and two others that were incompletions to Chase and Burton.

Burrow took three sacks in the game, and the running game accounted for just 74 yards on 22 carries, so there is still room for improvement in the offense, but it was a much better start. The Bengals got two first downs the opening drive and finished it with a field goal, and they scored points on four consecutive drives between the second and third quarters.

5. Tight ends usage evolving

With Tee Higgins still out but progressing in his recovery from a hamstring injury, the Bengals were able to call upon their tight ends for more production, and that proved to be a successful approach. The tight ends accounted for 151 of Burrow’s 258 yards passing.

Mike Gesicki led the team with seven catches for 91 yards, rookie Erick All Jr. had four catches for 32 yards and Drew Sample added three catches for 28 yards. That was the most receiving yards by a tight end group in Burrow’s career, surpassing the previous record of 101 yards last year against Buffalo.

Cincinnati was missing Tanner Hudson, though he was active. He was doubtful with a knee injury and was not used. Rookie tight end Tanner McLachlan was not active.

NEXT GAME

Monday, Sept. 23

Commanders at Bengals, 8:15 p.m., ABC, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7