Burrow, Hendrickson shine as Bengals rout Raiders

Cincinnati (4-5) gained a lead for good just before halftime and put the game out of reach with three touchdowns in about an eight-minute span going into and coming out of the break with the help of a Logan Wilson fumble recovery midway through the third quarter.

Joe Burrow completed his first 15 passes and finished with 251 yards passing and five touchdowns, Chase Brown, as the lone running back to touch the ball, topped 100 yards rushing for the first time in his NFL career and Trey Hendrickson recorded 4.0 sacks for a career high. Only two other Bengals have ever recorded four sacks in a game.

Things didn’t start off so well for Cincinnati’s defense, though. DJ Ivey’s defensive pass interference call as Brock Bowers failed to come down with a catch on third down extended Las Vegas’ first drive when the Bengals were looking at forcing a three-and-out. Eight plays later, the Raiders (2-7) were on the board with a Zamir White 1-yard touchdown run.

The Bengals were determined to bounce back from last week’s blowout loss to Philadelphia, so settling for a field goal wasn’t an option on their first drive. Tanner Hudson caught an 11-yard pass to convert a fourth-and-3 on Cincinnati’s first drive and Brown eventually tied the game, catching a 1-yard touchdown pass from Burrow.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Las Vegas only managed to add a field goal the rest of the half, and Bengals wideout Andrei Iosivas’ 10-yard touchdown reception with 32 seconds left in the second quarter served as the springboard to a lopsided win. Cincinnati, which went into the break with a 17-10 lead, got the ball first to start the second half and took advantage of the chance to double-dip when Burrow connected with Drew Sample on a 2-yard touchdown pass.

Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew then fumbled a handoff on the next drive, and Wilson recovered to put the Bengals at the Las Vega 21-yard line after a 10-yard return. Mike Gesicki scored five plays later on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Burrow for the 31-10 lead with 7:34 left in the third quarter. Gesicki would also add another touchdown reception with 5:37 remaining and finished with 100 yards receiving on five catches.

After both teams exchanged three-and-outs, Las Vegas made a change at quarterback to bring in former University of Cincinnati player Desmond Ridder, who was signed last week off Arizona’s practice squad to replace Aidan O’Connell, who had started in Weeks 6 and 7 but broke his thumb.

Ridder threw three straight incomplete passes his first drive, went 11-of-16 for 74 yards passing for the game and took four sacks, including one by Hendrickson that forced a fumble, which Wilson recovered for his second takeaway of the game to set up a McPherson field goal with 1:53 left for the Bengals’ final points.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

It didn’t help that Las Vegas was down to its third-string left tackle by the time Ridder entered after Kolton Miller and Andrus Peat both exited with ankle injuries. The Raiders scored a touchdown in the final minute, but their only other points of the second half came on a pick-6 when Jack Jones jumped a short pass Burrow intended for Ja’Marr Chase at the 30-yard line.

Cincinnati was without wide receiver Tee Higgins for a second straight game because of a quad injured suffered in practice Oct. 25, and left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. missed his first start of the season because of a knee/fibula injury he originally suffered in Week 6 at Cleveland and re-aggravated during last week’s loss to the Eagles.

In Higgins’ absence, the Bengals were planning to get rookie third-round pick Jermaine Burton more involved in the offense this week but instead ended up making him a healthy scratch. SI.com’s James Rapien reported that Burton did not show up for the team’s walkthrough on Saturday.

The Bengals also were missing running back Zack Moss, who was downgraded from doubtful to out Sunday morning because of a neck injury, and kick/punt returner Charlie Jones, who was questionable because of a groin injury. Brown finished with 27 carries for 120 yards, as Cincinnati topped 100 yards rushing for the first time in three weeks and just the fourth time this season.

To make matters worse on the injury front, Erick All suffered a right knee injury when his leg buckled as he planted at the end of a 6-yard catch in the second quarter. It’s the same knee he tore his ACL on to end his college career at Iowa last fall.