KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ On a day the veterans saw this team has what it needs and in a game their talented kids needed to see to get better, the Bengals took stock of another emotional whirlpool Sunday with the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
"Never moral victories, but I think we can beat anybody. We proved that today," said defensive captain Sam Hubbard after the 26-25 walkoff loss. "Fifteen games left. There's no reason to panic. We take what we did today and build off it."
Don't get Hubbard wrong. It was, to use the media sign-in password of the day, a gut punch. They had the two-time Super Bowl champions flat on the canvas.
You only had to see Joe Burrow rip off his helmet and slam it to the sideline when the fourth-and-16 pass interference flag on rookie safety Daijahn Anthony fluttered to set up the winning field goal to see how deeply it stung.
"As frustrating as I have had," Burrow said later of the loss.
It was also a day head coach Zac Taylor knew his team responded just the way it had to after last Sunday's rather stunning loss to the Patriots in the opener. Taylor delivered the right message when he chose to go for it on fourth-and-three twice; once on the first drive and the other for the go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter, and was rewarded with 10 points.
"Disappointing that we lost. It was an emotional loss for us, but at the same time, I like where our team's mental state is at," Taylor said. "How we fought on the road against a really good team and I am confident that we're going to be able to bounce back the right way and get ourselves in better shape in Week 3."
It was also a day a captain on the other side, center Ted Karras, looked around his side of the locker room and saw the stalls of rookie tight end Erick All Jr. and wide receiver Jermaine Burton and declared them to be, "Two players who are going to be an important part of what the Bengals do for a long time."
Someone asked Karras if the kids grew up Sunday.
"You have to grow up at Arrowhead," Karras said.
Start with Burrow, because that's where it all starts.
He already became an NFL coverboy growing up here three years ago when the Bengals won the AFC title, but Sunday he staged a three-hour clinic on why the whispers about his surgically-repaired throwing wrist that emanated from his outing in the opener were exactly that.
After making all sorts of throws to build his 103.7 passer rating, Burrow was at his best in the drive where they took a 22-17 lead with 2:16 left in the third quarter. On third-and-two from the Chiefs 15, he escaped a certain sack and carried two defenders for a first down, one of them the monstrous linebacker Nick Bolton.
"Joe is our leader. Moments like this are what he is built for and that is where he is at his best. I would not expect anything less from him," Taylor said.
Then, on third-and-one from the 2, Burrow converted not a quarterback sneak but a quarterback slam through 250-pound linebacker Leo Chenal for the first down. Wrist and all as his helmet came bouncing out of the scrum. The man who put on about 10-15 pounds last offseason was asked if the gym paid off on those two plays.
"Yeah," Burrow said. "I would say that is accurate."
All the while, Burrow was a Riverbend traffic cop, adjusting to blocking-supreme tight end Drew Sample out getting an IV and third tackle Cody Ford going in and out of the lineup. Finally, on fourth-and-three, All was pressed into service next to right tackle Trent Brown.
Talk about the kids growing up. On fourth-and-three, Burrow was able to find sophomore wide receiver Andrei Iosivas, who broke the ankles of cornerback Joshua Williams when Wiliams tried to undercut his post. Iosivas pivoted on a dime the opposite way to create separation for the touchdown.
It was the second time Sunday Iosivas turned potential red-zone frustration into red-zone gold. He scored the Bengals' first touchdown on third-and-four on a combination comeback route, back-shoulder and somehow kept both feet in-bounds.
If it looked exactly like a play in a move-the-ball drill during training camp, Iosivas agreed.
"I let my legs go dead," Iosivas said, "and hoped they dragged across the grass."
Although Iosivas dropped a second-down ball over the middle as the Bengals tried to kill a clock ticking toward three minutes, Burrow is going back to him soon.
"He's done nothing for me to not trust him," Burrow said. "All he does is make plays in big spots and continue to get better and better, practice really hard, and we love what he's doing. He's going to continue to be a big part of what we're doing here."
So are Burton and All, the third- and fourth-rounders, respectively. Taylor has been spare with his praise for the outrageously talented Burton as the rookie adjusts to a pro offense and routine.
Taylor and Burrow said wonders about Burton's progress Sunday, however. Taylor gave him 10 snaps, and Burrow gave him his first NFL catch on their first play of the second half with a 47-yard dime on a go ball that is the Bengals' longest play of the season.
"Not a lot of opportunities came his way, but he did his job," Taylor said. "He made a huge play for us to start that half. I am proud of the way he has continued to progress."
After playing a dozen plays in his debut, All played 33 on Sunday and was part of a tight end attack that racked up 14 catches for 151 yards against defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's estimable playoff-tested group. It included a 37-yard YAC over the middle to Mike Gesicki on fourth-and-three from the Chiefs 43 on the first drive of the game.
With wide receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring) out, the Chiefs doubled three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and took away the deep ball. (Except on their last snap on third-and-six when safety Chamarri Conner looked like he was going to be involved with coverage on Chase but blitzed unblocked instead for a sack of Burrow.)
That left the tight ends able to operate underneath.
"Mike and Drew are so smart. They know where the pockets of the defense are and Joe knows how to find them," All said.
All had four catches for 32 yards, including the same 19-yard out he had run in practice. A product of the Cincinnati suburb of Fairfield, he looks at home.
"It stinks we lost, but it was very promising out there," All said. "We'll use this to add fuel to the fire. We played great out there. I feel we'll grow from this and become a better team."
They clearly also think highly of another rookie on the other side: safety Anthony, who got stung with two huge penalties. Before the pass interference on fourth-and-16 when he hit wide receiver Rashee Rice early from behind, Anthony was called for holding tight end Travis Kelce and wiped out cornerback DJ Turner’s interception.
But Anthony was part of the contingent that stoned the 11,000-Yard Man by holding Kelce to a catch for five yards. Anthony played only nine snaps, but they came at premium times against Patrick Mahomes in passing situations.
"He had done a great job in training camp. There are always a role for these guys that show that it is not too big for them," Taylor said. "That is what we expect from Daijahn. I am proud of those young guys for taking the opportunity."
Anthony, no doubt, is going to get coached up by veteran safety Vonn Bell in the secondary-only meeting on the Tuesday off day. On Sunday, Bell said it's another brick in the wall.
"He did it in training camp. He went out and made plays. When your number's called, it's time," Bell said. It's a day-to-day league, a week-to-week league. You see it on tape, you correct it, and make plays when they come."
If anyone knows the moment, it's Bell. His interception in overtime of the 2021 AFC title game here helped put them in the Super Bowl.
"Emotional. A play-off environment," said Bell, who liked how they bounced back. "This is playoff football, AFC football. We'll probably see them later. This is one of the games you have to find a way to finish.
"We were flying around, playing complementary football, making plays on the ball, the offenses getting first downs. We just have to find a way to finish."
Hubbard has an idea of how Anthony feels. He remembers the third game of his career in Carolina in 2018. It came a week after his first sack against Baltimore.
"I thought it was going to be easy," Hubbard said. "I missed the fumble on Cam Newton. I missed the blocked punt. Either one of those plays would have won the game. Solely on me.
"A dose of reality. This league is about adversity. All of us could have made the play to win the game. There's no one play anywhere. It's on all of us. (The penalty) could have gone either way. We did a good job getting the stop. (The penalty) could have gone either way. We did a good job getting them in that position. We have to make the stop the next time."
They came out of it thinking they showed there can be a next time.
Asked if he thinks he'll see his old team in the playoffs again, left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. had one word on a day there were many.
"Absolutely."
