Cincinnati Bengals fall to Philadelphia Eagles in crushing 37-17 loss

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 37-17 Sunday in Paycor Stadium.

While Sunday's matchup ended on a low note, it started out on a high for Who Dey Nation as Paycor Stadium was a sea of white Bengals stripes for the fan-favorite "White Bengal" game.

History was also made in the Jungle as twin brothers — Cincinnati running back Chase Brown and Eagles safety Sydney Brown — played against each other for the first time. Both brothers were named co-captains for the game.

Cincinnati got off to a perfect start against Philadelphia with a 17-play opening drive that lasted more than half of the first quarter. The drive ended in Cincinnati's first touchdown of the day when Joe Burrow connected with his main man Ja'Marr Chase.

In a drive that ended with an Evan McPherson field goal, Burrow used his legs and scrambled out of what looked like a sure sack to find tight end Mike Gesicki for a crucial third-down conversion.

Gesicki, on National Tight End Day nonetheless, followed it up with an insane one-handed grab in the same drive.

After previously being held to a field goal, the Eagles got their first touchdown of the day in the form of a Jalen Hurts tush push. Cincinnati initially thought they snuffed the play, but the officials reversed the call for the touchdown to finish the first half.

Philadelphia then opened the third quarter with another Hurts touchdown, as he rushed seven yards into the end zone.

The Bengals then returned the favor with a four-yard rushing touchdown by Chase Brown.

In a play that seemed to take the momentum out of Cincinnati, Hurts threw a massive 45-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith.

On the Bengals next drive, they took a risk in trying to convert on 4th-and-1, and it didn't work out in their favor. The Eagles got the ball back on Cincinnati's 37-yard line, but they were held to a field goal.

Following that field goal, the Eagles seemed to take away all hope left for Bengals fans in the game's first turnover. Burrow went deep to Chase, but the ball was tipped by Isaiah Rodgers directly into Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson's arms.

Hurts then continued to lay it on thick with his third rushing touchdown of the day, which was set up by a huge 17-yard rush by running back Saquon Barkley.

To make matters worse, Cincinnati then had their second turnover of the game when Gesicki fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Eagles linebacker Zack Baun.

Bengals fans don't have much to celebrate after the crushing loss, which brings the Bengals to 3-5 this season.

Fans began leaving Paycor Stadium in droves after the disappointing performance from the Bengals.

Burrow, who threw 26-for-37, 234 yards and one touchdown, started out hot and had standout moments, but it just wasn't enough. Backup Jake Browning was eventually put in for Burrow in the fourth quarter.

The Bengals defense also failed to stop both Philadelphia's rushing and passing offense. McPherson also had a missed 54-yard field goal. The kicker has missed his last three attempts from 50 yards or more.

Cincinnati was also without wide receiver Tee Higgins, who has been a crucial target for Burrow. Higgins was ruled inactive after he suffered a quad injury at practice this week. Offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. also left the game in the second quarter with a right knee injury and never returned.

Following the loss, head coach Zac Taylor called the game frustrating, saying "everybody deserves better."

Taylor also said the "second half wasn't good enough."

Burrow was visibly despondent after the loss.

"I don't think anybody was good enough today," he said in his post-game press conference.

Burrow did still have a bit of hope for the rest of the season and Cincinnati's playoff chances.

"I think 10 wins usually gets you in," Burrow said. "We got to win 7 out of 9. That's doable."

The Bengals are at home again next week hosting the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.