Burrow leads Bengals past winless Jags
CINCINNATI: Joe Burrow won the battle of the No.1 draft picks as the Cincinnati Bengals came from behind to defeat Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-21 in the NFL on Thursday.
Bengals quarterback Burrow — the top pick in the 2020 draft — led a superb second-half fightback from 14-0 down which culminated with Evan McPherson kicking the game-winning field goal with four seconds remaining.
But it was another disappointing outing for Jaguars quarterback Lawrence, the much-hyped 2021 No.1 draft pick who is still waiting for his first win in the NFL.
The Jaguars fell to 0-4 with the defeat. Including last season, the Jags have now lost 19 straight games.
The Bengals improved to 3-1 thanks to another assured performance from Burrow, who finished with 348 passing yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
But it was the poise of the 24-year-old Bengals quarterback on the final drive that proved decisive.
Picking up the ball on the Cincinnati 10-yard line, the Bengals advanced 73 yards to move into position for the winning field goal at Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium.
“I knew they weren’t going to be able to stop us, we were on a groove on offense,” Burrow said of the Bengals’ final drive.
“We knew we didn’t play well in the first half but we haven’t been a first-half team all year.
“We’re a completely different team from last year. Last year we would have folded under the pressure.”
SUPER BOWL SHOW
California icons Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar along with Mary J Blige and Eminem will perform at the Super Bowl half-time show on Feb 13, 2022, the NFL announced.
The celebration of West Coast hiphop in one of music’s most visible gigs is fitting for Super Bowl LVI, which will be held in Los Angeles for the first time in nearly three decades.
The star-studded performance will fall three years after the NFL faced sharp criticism by choosing pop-rock band Maroon 5 to lead the marquee show in Atlanta, for years seen as America’s hip-hop capital.