Joe Burrow threw for 481 yards and three touchdowns as the Cincinnati Bengals jumped to a big lead and routed the visiting Atlanta Falcons 35-17 on Sunday.
The Bengals (4-3), winners of four of their last five games, featured big plays to score touchdowns on their first four possessions and were never threatened.
Burrow connected with Tyler Boyd for a 60-yard touchdown strike and with Ja’Marr Chase for 32- and 41-yard scores in building a 28-7 lead with 49 seconds left in the first half, before the Falcons (3-4) recovered to score 10 points and trim the halftime deficit to 11.
Boyd finished with eight receptions for a career-high 155 yards and Chase with eight more for 130 as the Bengals amassed 537 net yards to the Falcons’ 214. Tee Higgins added 93 yards receiving on five catches.
Cincinnati remained tied with the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC North standings.
The Falcons, who entered the week ranked 27th in the NFL in allowing 385.2 yards per game, were further hindered when they lost starting cornerback A.J. Terrell to a hamstring injury in the first quarter.
Atlanta quarterback Marcus Mariota went 8 of 13 passing for 124 yards, with 75 of those on a touchdown strike to Damiere Byrd with 39 seconds left in the first half. It was Byrd’s first reception of the season.
Tyler Allgeier scored on a 1-yard run and finished with 50 yards on 16 carries for Atlanta.
Joe Mixon, who scored on a 1-yard run for the Bengals, tallied 58 yards on 17 carries. Burrow added a 1-yard touchdown run.
After Byrd’s touchdown catch, the Bengals failed to maneuver into field-goal range in the final minute of the half, and the Falcons registered another big play. Avery Williams brought a short punt back 56 yards, setting up Younghoe Koo’s 43-yard field goal as time expired to trim the deficit to 28-17.
The Falcons mounted no serious scoring threat in the second half, but they remained tied atop the NFC South with Tampa Bay, which lost to host Carolina on Sunday.
Burrow was sacked three times, as the Bengals have allowed 25 this season. Cincinnati also sacked Mariota three times.
Burrow’s passing yards were his second-highest career total to the 525 he compiled last December against Baltimore.
–Field Level Media
