Minnesota Meltdown: Joe Burrow-Less Bengals Crushed by Vikings 48-10

 The Bengals entered Sunday's game against the Vikings with a chance to improve to 3-0 for the first time in a decade. They leave it wondering if they'll be good enough to win games without star quarterback Joe Burrow.

The Vikings absolutelycrushed the Bengals 48-10 on Sunday at US Bank Stadium. It's the worst loss in team history.

The Bengals fall to 2-1 on the season. Here are our postgame observations:

Second Quarter Meltdown

The Bengals started slow, but had a chance to get back into the game against Minnesota on Sunday when they got the ball back with 2:52 left in the half trailing 17-3.

Cincinnati had a chance to get points and build some momentum going into halftime. They also received the second half kickoff. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity, they let it slip through their fingers: literally.

Vikings Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers forced a Noah Fant fumble and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown. That gave Minnesota a commanding 24-3 lead.

The Bengals got the ball back and Ja'Marr Chase fumbled two plays later. The Vikings scored another touchdown to take a 31-3 lead.

Samaje Perine topped it off with another fumble. Minnesota settled for a field goal on that possession to take a 34-3 halftime lead.

Despite miscues early in the half, the Bengals had a chance to grab some momentum. The opposite happened.

They fumbled on three of their final four offensive snaps of the first half. The Vikings scored 17 points on those three turnovers. They have 24 first half points on turnovers. The Bengals turned the ball over four times in the first half—two of those turnovers were returned for touchdowns.

Turnovers

The Bengals gave Minnesota all the momentum they needed when Browning was intercepted by Rodgers on Cincinnati's second possession of the game.

The Bengals were in scoring range and trailed 7-0. Browning tried to find Chase Brown inside the 15-yard line, but the pass was tipped and intercepted by Rodgers. He returned it 87 yards for the touchdown.

Browning threw two interceptions on the day. The Bengals also lost three fumbles. Minnesota scored 31 points off turnovers, which obviously completely changed the game.

No Run Game

The Bengals were hoping to get the run game going on Sunday. That didn't happen.

They ran for 53 total yards. Chase Brown had three yards on 10 attempts. He averaged 0.3 yards-per-carry. Samaje Perine had 21 yards on four attempts.

The Bengals needed more out of their ground game on Sunday and it was by far their worst performance of the season.

Injuries

Bengals starting right guard Dalton Risner suffered a calf injury in the second half and didn't return. Rookien Jalen Rivers took Risner's spot at right guard.

Running back Samaje Perine suffered a thumb injury late in the first half when he fumbled and didn't return.

Tight end Noah Fant was being evaluated for a concussion in the second half

Up Next

The Bengals have a primetime date with the Broncos in Denver on Monday, Sept. 29 at 8:15 p.m. ET.

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