Bengals deal with offensive, defensive miscues, lose to Patriots in Week 1

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals are starting the season off 0-1 after a loss Sunday against the New England Patriots.

The Patriots beat the Bengals 16-10.

Cincinnati faced issues on both offense and defense, dealing with tackling and turnover mistakes.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow was sacked on the second play of the game, and again soon after. Cincinnati went three-and-out on three series before finally capturing a first down when Burrow connected with Andrei Iosivas.

The Patriots struck first, scoring at the start of the second quarter when Rhamondre Stevenson — who dominated the Bengals defense throughout the game — easily walked into the end zone.

Bengals tight end Tanner Hudson fumbled near the end zone, allowing Patriots corner Marcus Jones to recover the ball. The fumble came after what would've been the Bengals' first touchdown of the season was overturned when officials ruled that tight end Mike Gesicki didn't have control of the ball when he landed in the end zone.

The Bengals went into halftime with zero points and to start off the second half, Cincinnati receiver Charlie Jones also fumbled the ball on a punt return, which was recovered by New England.

The Bengals finally scored when Zack Moss ran 5 yards for his first touchdown as a Bengal.

Despite the offensive push, the Bengals' mistakes continued and another sack on Burrow forced Evan McPherson to have to kick a 51-yard field goal.

After a final three-and-out series where Cincinnati barely moved the ball, the Patriots ran out the clock, securing their win.

After the loss, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor started his post-game press conference by calling the performance "disappointing."

“It’s just frustrating that we didn’t play well… looking at the turnover battle and missed tackles," Taylor said. "It’s as simple as that.”

The Bengals are on the road next week facing the Kansas City Chiefs. Kickoff is at 4:25 p.m. ET in Arrowhead Stadium.