Joe Burrow got a rousing reception from the football-starved crowd that went through Paul Brown Stadium's fully opened gates for the first time in nearly two years and as expected he departed as quickly as he bounded on the field for Sunday's first series.
Burrow, in his first appearance since the Nov. 22 torn ACL in Washington, gave an inside handoff to slot receiver Tyler Boyd on an end-around for a two-yard gain and on second down Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was true to his word and gave Burrow the safest of throws.
Burrow went play-action and fired a quick wide receiver screen to rookie Ja'Marr Chase on the left perimeter. But after his best practice as a pro Thursday, Chase flat out dropped it. And it caused chaos because it was close to the line of scrimmage for a potential fumble and right tackle Riley Reiff was nailed for a personal foul after the play.
Burrow handed off on third and Hamilton County and running back Joe Mixon ran into Reiff's back. But he bounced off and got five yards.
That was it for Burrow and the first offense after about 90 seconds. The ballcap was on and Brandon Allen was in.
