CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals came out of the bye week looking like contenders again.
The calf injury that slowed the star quarterback early in the season seemed to be a distant memory on Sunday as Burrow passed into tight windows, ducked out of sacks and scrambled for big gains as the Bengals (4-3) played their most complete game of the season with a 31-17 road win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Burrow has shown the ability to raise the level of play of his teammates.
Ja’Marr Chase had 10 more catches Sunday, the ground game got some more traction, and the defense picked off 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy twice.
“We needed this one,” Burrow said.
Burrow threw for three touchdowns.
His 87.
5% completion rate was a career high.
He completed 19 passes in a row, also a career high, finishing 28 for 32 for 283 yards.
He ran for another 43 on the ground.
Burrow’s 20-yard scramble extended a drive early in the second half that led to a 56-yard field goal and a 17-10 Cincinnati lead.
“I told him on the field: I said, ‘Welcome back, man,'” said Chase, who finished with 10 catches for 100 yards.
Coach Zac Taylor said his confidence in Burrow’s ability to make the right decisions never wavered.
“I don’t use the word ‘awesome’ anymore,” Taylor said.
“It’s exactly what you’d expect.
” Cincinnati has won three in a row and four of its last five since losing the first two games of the season while Burrow is still rehabbing a strained calf muscle that sidelined him throughout training camp .
The return to form comes at just the right time for Burrow and the Bengals, who will face AFC rival Buffalo (5-3) on Sunday night.
WHAT WORKS Almost everything works most of the time on Sunday.
The offense racked up a game-high 400 yards, scoring touchdowns through the air and on the ground.
The defense allowed Purdy to pass the ball a lot (365), but had a few timely stops.
Quarterbacks Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson had key interceptions.
One play after Wilson’s pick early in the fourth quarter, Burrow hit Chase for a 17-yard touchdown and a 24-10 Cincinnati lead.
Chase celebrates with a backflip.
NEED HELP Production from last position is almost non-existent.
Irv Smith Jr.
fumbled inside the 49ers’ 5-yard line just before halftime, wasting a chance to give the Bengals a two-point lead.
Cincinnati left effective tight end Hayden Hurst in free agency and brought back Smith, who disappointed.
STOCKS Running back Joe Mixon had his best game of the season behind an offensive line that knows how to give him space.
He rushed 16 times for 87 yards, averaging 5.
4 yards per carry, and ran untouched for a 5-yard TD late in the game.
It was just his second rushing touchdown this season.
REDUCTION Smith, hampered by a hamstring injury this season, has 10 catches for 57 yards in four games.
CHAPTER TO Trey Hendrickson (left ankle) came out in the first half but returned.
KEY NUMBERS 11 — 49ers’ home winning streak broken by Cincinnati.
NEXT STEPS Keep Burrow healthy and happy so he can continue to reunite with Chase.
Maintain and improve running game.
A balanced attack will be beneficial as the Bengals compete with their AFC North opponents.
They face the Steelers two more times (November 26 and December 26).
23) and will have the opportunity to avenge early season defeats against Baltimore (November 16) and Cleveland in the final week of the season.
