NFL Power Rankings, Week 3: Packers, Ravens set dominant tone

Joe Burrow had his first taste of primetime NFL action as well as his first ‘Battle for Ohio’ on Thursday Night Football as he led the Cincinnati Bengals northeast to play the Cleveland Browns. In this one, the Bengals were never really a threat to the Browns who came out on fire but they deserve a ton of credit for how they played.

The young roster never gave up and despite being down 28-13 in the third quarter, they kept fighting. They closed the gap and made it 35-30 and had an inside kick attempt that could have given them a shot at a Hail Mary for the upset. Of course, with the new kickoff rules, these are incredibly hard now, so the Browns just fell on the ball and ran the clock out.

As for Burrow, he impressed in the win. He threw an insane 61 passes due to the Bengals playing from behind and still had no interceptions. He finished with 316 yards and had three touchdowns while spreading the ball around to eight different receivers. He played like a seasoned vet and while he says he hates losing, it doesn’t feel like that’s going to be the case for long.

Cincinnati is trending in the right direction and Burrow is legit. Unfortunately, it might still take another year or two to fix their offensive line and really give him a chance to take off. Which means this could still be a tough season for him and the team.