Cincinnati Bengals: Turnovers and League's Worst Rushing Attack Causing Issues
Jake Browning made his first start of the season in place of Joe Burrow, and it wasn't pretty.
The Bengals (2-1) committed five turnovers while being routed by the Minnesota Vikings, 48-10, in Week 3.
With Burrow expected to miss at least three months following toe surgery, the game wasn't encouraging for Cincinnati's hopes to remain in playoff contention until Burrow returns. Browning threw two interceptions, including a pick-six in the first quarter, and he leads the NFL with five interceptions.
Head Coach Zac Taylor knows the Bengals must play much better collectively to win consistently without Burrow.
"That first half was ugly," Taylor said via the Bengals’ website. "We're going to have to make a lot of corrections from it, but we're going to have to be ready to move on.
"Nobody was good, nobody can say, 'I played great, man. I did everything I could to support Jake and do my part.' There's none of us that are going to be able to say that, so that's on all of us."
The Bengals' ineffective ground attack has put more pressure on Browning. Cincinnati ranks at the bottom of the NFL in rushing, averaging just 49 yards per game. Lead running back Chase Brown still hasn't gained 100 total yards through three games, despite getting 47 carries.
With Brown and Browning both struggling, the Bengals are looking for answers offensively as they prepare to visit the Denver Broncos (1-2) on "Monday Night Football" in Week 4.
"There's a lot we have to prove in the run game," Taylor said. "It's not pretty right now. We're not going to run from that. We've got to really identify where we're going to be in the run game, what we're going to hang our hat on, who we're going to run behind."
Pittsburgh Steelers: Defensive Lineup Changes Pay Off With Five Takeaways
The Steelers (2-1) didn't play up to par defensively through their first two games, leading to lineup changes that paid off during a 21-14 victory over the New England Patriots.
With former Ravens safety DeShon Elliott (knee) out of the lineup, Jabrill Peppers started and made six tackles. Cole Holcomb had six tackles in his first start at inside linebacker next to ex-Raven Patrick Queen, who had a team-leading 10 tackles. First-round defensive tackle Derrick Harmon played 35 snaps and had two tackles with a sack, making his NFL debut after a preseason injury.
The opportunistic Steelers recovered four New England fumbles and are second in the NFL in takeaways (8) behind the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have nine. Queen views forcing turnovers as part of Pittsburgh's DNA.
"We talk about it all day in every single meeting," Queen said via Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. "You get tired of hearing turnover, turnover, turnover. That's just something they live by here and I love to see it.
"Some people might say we played good. I think there's another step that [we] could take, a whole other level that we could take it to."
The Steelers were inconsistent offensively and needed a 17-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Calvin Austin with 2:16 to play to break a 14-14 tie.
The Steelers will travel to Ireland in Week 4 to face the Vikings (2-1).
Cleveland Browns: Strong Defense and Special Teams Lead to Upset Win
The Browns (1-2) got their first victory of the season in Week 3 with key plays on defense and special teams.
Trailing 10-0 with less than four minutes to play, Cleveland rallied with 13 points to upset the Green Bay Packers, 13-10.
Rookie kicker Andre Szymt kicked a 55-yard field goal as time expired to seal the win, but it was the defense that kept Cleveland in the game.
Cleveland leads the NFL in total defense, yielding just 204.3 points per game, and is No. 1 in rushing defense (57.3 yards per game). That unit kept the Browns in the game against Green Bay as they sacked Jordan Love four times, and safety Grant Delpit made a key interception with 3:18 left. Delpit returned the pick to Green Bay's 4-yard line to set up the game-tying touchdown.
Browns quarterback Joe Flacco said the Browns showed resiliency when they were struggling to score.
"I think today, as tough as it can be, we won a football game, and it was hard," said Flacco via The Associated Press, after completing 21 of 36 passes for 142 yards and an interception. "It's hard when you're in your own stadium and you can't put points on the board and everybody feels it and you feel it, but you've got to keep going out there and doing your job and having faith that, you know, something's going to happen and we're going to get it done."
The Browns visit the Lions (1-1) in Week 4.
