The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens headlined the AFC North matchups for Week Five, the Steelers coming out on top 17-10. But they weren’t the only divisional team playing this weekend. The Cincinnati Bengals notched an important win to give their season some hope, beating the Arizona Cardinals 34-20 Sunday afternoon.
WR Ja’Marr Chase broke out in a big way, catching three touchdowns to propel the Bengals over the Cardinals. He finished the day with a wild 15-catch, 192-yard, three touchdown performance, grabbing all three of QB Joe Burrow’s touchdown passes.
Cincinnati quickly built a 10-0 first quarter lead. Using an 11-play drive on their opening possession, Burrow hit Chase for a two-yard score on 3rd and goal.
Down 10-0, Arizona got on the board early in the second quarter when ex-Steelers QB Josh Dobbs hit ex-Ravens WR Hollywood Brown for a 25-yard touchdown. Arizona would briefly take the lead later in the half when Dobbs connected with TE Zach Ertz from four yards out.
Cincinnati went on a long second-quarter drive that stalled at the Cardinals’ one after RB Joe Mixon stuffed on 4th and goal. Arizona seemed to be in control heading into the half but two plays later, Dobbs was pick-sixed by CB Cameron Taylor-Britt. The Bengals took a 17-14 lead into halftime.
The Bengals added to it on the opening drive of the second half. Receiving the ball, Burrow hit Chase for a 63-yard score to make it a 24-14 advantage, a beautiful deep ball thrown perfectly to Chase over his shoulder, who got behind the Cardinals’ defense.
The Cardinals closed the gap with a rushing score followed by a Burrow interception on Cincinnati’s ensuing drive. But Arizona turned the ball over on downs and Chase found the end zone for the third time of the day, a three-yard touchdown with under eight minutes to play. Kicker Evan McPherson tacked on a 40-yard field goal to produce the final score, 34-20.
Burrow finished the day with easily his best game of the season, throwing for 317 yards and three scores. RB Joe Mixon ran for 80 yards. For the Cardinals, Dobbs completed under half his passes, was picked twice, and sacked three times. Arizona turned the ball over three times.
The Cleveland Browns had an early bye. Coming off a Week Four loss to the Baltimore Ravens with backup rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, they’ll take on the San Francisco 49ers in Week Six. Around the North, the Ravens will play the Tennessee Titans in London while the Bengals will host the Seattle Seahawks. The Steelers are off Week Six. With their win, Pittsburgh leads the division and is 2-0 in the North.
Your AFC standings through Week Five.
