Joe Burrow threw for two touchdowns and Chase Brown ran for two scores as the Cincinnati Bengals finally broke into the win column, topping the Carolina Panthers 34-24 on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte, N.C.
The Bengals (1-3) scored 17 straight points to pull away from a tie score.
Ja’Marr Chase made a 63-yard touchdown reception. Burrow was 22-for-31 passing with 232 yards and an interception, and Brown finished with 80 rushing yards on 15 carries.
Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton, playing against his former team, was 25-for-40 passing for 220 yards and two touchdown throws with an interception. Chuba Hubbard added 104 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 18 attempts for Carolina (1-3).
Diontae Johnson’s 21-yard touchdown reception in the final minute of the third quarter gave Carolina hope. Then Xavier Woods picked off Burrow, leading to Eddy Pineiro’s 48-yard field goal with 7:42 remaining, cutting Cincinnati’s lead to 31-24.
Carolina had a chance to pull even, but the Panthers went three-and-out and punted back to the Bengals. Cincinnati then kept the ball for more than three minutes as the Panthers used all three of their timeouts, with Evan McPherson’s 46-yard field goal making it a two-possession lead with 1:14 to play.
Cincinnati needed to go only 16 yards for the game’s first points after Vonn Bell’s interception and 32-yard return. Brown ran in from 3 yards out.
Hubbard’s 3-yard run put the Panthers on the board before Burrow’s long pass to play to Chase.
Carolina pulled even again on Xavier Legette’s 8-yard pass from Dalton with 1:09 to play in the half.
The Bengals then hustled to go 66 yards in eight plays, capped by Burrow’s 1-yard toss to Zack Moss with 1 second left.
The Bengals went 71 yards on the opening possession of the second half, with Brown going 1 yard for the TD. McPherson’s 56-yard field goal stretched the edge to 31-14.
The Panthers’ first drive of the game ended in frustration, as they drove to the Cincinnati 1-yard line but were unable to get to the end zone on three straight plays.
–Field Level Media
