CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Running backs Zack Moss and Chase Brown scored on one-yard plays to end the first half and open the second, and the Bengals used the “double-dip” to post their first win of the year in a 34-24 victory over the Panthers.
Quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns, one a 63-yard-catch-and-run play by wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Brown and Moss combined to put the Bengals over 100 yards rushing.
NOTES
Burrow Hits 15K
Joe Burrow surpassed 15,000 career passing yards on his first completion of the third quarter, a 10-yarder to tight end Erick All Jr. Playing in his 56th game, Burrow tied for the fourth-fastest player in NFL history to reach 15,000 passing yards.
Burrow finished the day 22 of 31 for 232 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, good for a passer rating of 100.5.
Burrow Through 2,000 Attempts
Burrow threw his 2,000th career pass attempt on the Bengals’ opening offensive possession. His 1,363 completions at the time he reached that mark went in as the second-most in NFL history through any quarterback’s first 2,000 attempts. Only former San Diego/New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees had more (1,444).
Joe to Ja’Marr For 63
Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase over the middle on a third down in the second quarter, and the Pro Bowler fought off would-be tacklers to take it for a 63-yard touchdown. It marked Chase’s ninth career receiving touchdown of 60 or more yards, the most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2021. It also ties former Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for the most such touchdowns in the Super Bowl era by a player under the age of 25.
The play also marked Burrow’s 15th career touchdown pass of 50 or more yards, the most leaguewide since the start of the 2020 season.
Ja’Marr Reaches 4K
Chase finished with three catches for 85 yards and his third touchdown of the season. He reached 4,000 career receiving yards in the process, and playing in his 49th game he became the fastest Bengal ever to do so. Chase surpassed A.J. Green, who hit the 4K mark in his 50th game.
Chase also became just the fifth player in the Super Bowl era to reach 4,000+ receiving and 30+ receiving touchdowns in his first 50 games, joining Green, Beckham Jr., and Pro Football Hall of Famers Randy Moss and Jerry Rice.
Bengals Execute “Double-Dip”
Cincinnati successfully pulled off the “double-dip,” scoring a touchdown on the final true possession of the first half and the opening possession of the second half. The Bengals received the ball on their own 34-yard line with 1:08 remaining in the second quarter and marched on an eight-play, 66-yard drive capped off by a Burrow-to-Zack Moss TD pass with one second left on the clock.
It marked the latest Bengals touchdown scored in a first half since A.J. Green caught a 48-yard pass from Andy Dalton with no time remaining in Week 7 of the 2016 season against Cleveland.
The Bengals then opened the third quarter with an eight play, 71-yard drive that was punctuated by Chase Brown’s second rushing score of the afternoon to make it 28-14.
Bell Sets Up Brown
Vonn Bell intercepted a Dalton pass that was affected by Trey Hendrickson in the first quarter, and returned the pick 32 yards to the Carolina 16. It was Bell’s eighth career interception and his first since Week 2 of last season, which also came at Bank of America Stadium when he played for the Panthers.
The pick made way for Chase Brown’s first career rushing touchdown five plays later that gave Cincinnati a 7-0 lead. The second-year back out of Illinois had one previous career touchdown via a screen pass he took 54 yards to the end zone in Week 14 last season versus Indianapolis.
Money Mac Good From 56
Evan McPherson drilled a 56-yard field goal to boost the Bengals’ lead to 31-14 late in the third quarter. It extended his Bengals career record to 24 field goals from 50+ yards, which also are the second-most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2021. It was McPherson’s longest field goal since Week 8 of last season at San Francisco — also a 56-yarder. McPherson later knocked through a 46-yard field goal with 1:14 remaining to put Cincinnati up by 10 and seal the victory.
