Vincent Frank
The Cincinnati Bengals host the Los Angele Rams on Monday Night Football to conclude Week 3 of the NFL season. It’s a rematch between the two from Super Bowl LVI following the 2021 season in which the Rams defeated Cincinnati.
So many things have changed between these two teams since then. Though, the two constants are at the quarterback position. Joe Burrow is active for the Bengals after being questionable with a calf injury heading in. Matthew Stafford remains in Southern California after an injury-plagued 2022 campaign.
For the homestanding Bengals, this is a must-win situation. They are 0-2 on the season. Only one team that has started a season 0-3 since 2002 went on to make the playoffs that same season.
Los Angeles is somewhat of a surprise in that the team cleaned house during the offseason. Sean McVay’s squad then went on to upset the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 before playing the San Francisco 49ers close in their last outing.
Here, we provide you with the best Monday Night Football highlights with some analysis from this big Week 3 primetime matchup.
Monday Night Football highlights: Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati Bengals
That’s all she wrote. The Rams’ onside kick attempt with less than one minute to go failed. Cincinnati comes out on top by the score of 19-16, winning its first game of the season. Los Angeles moves to 1-2 on the campaign.
The Rams were able to get a touchdown on a pass from Stafford to Tutu Atwell with 1:03 remaining in the fourth quarter to pull the game to within 19-16.
The story of this game for Los Angeles was a lack of pass protection in front of Stafford. With the team trailing by 10 points and just over two minutes remaining, Stafford was sacked for the sixth time in the game.
With Los Angeles down seven and needing a big play on defense, veteran cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon did just that. Check out this insane one-handed interception on a Joe Burrow pass intended for Tyler Boyd. It was some Matrix stuff.
By far, that’s the best interception of the season in the NFL. Unfortunately for the Rams, they went three-and-out on the next possession with Stafford being sacked twice.
Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson recorded his second interception of the game after the Rams looked like they were threatening. Stafford had just connected with Van Jefferson on a 46-yard pass to set Los Angeles up at Cincinnati’s 30. That’s when Wilson did his thing after a tip by Mike Hilton.
Finally. Cincinnati found itself mired in a 9-6 deficit in the third quarter on Monday night. Its offense needed to come up big. That’s exactly what Joe Burrow and Co. did by driving down the field 75 yards on 10 plays, culminating in a 14-yard touchdown run for Joe Mixon.
This score gave the Bengals a 13-9 lead. Given Los Angeles’ red zone struggles, this might very well be enough to hold up.
Cincinnati was able to nod the game up to end the first half with a field goal. It still has not scored a touchdown in the opening half through three games. Meanwhile, Burrow threw for 144 yards on 31 attempts in the opening two quarters.
As the Bengals continue to struggle on offense, their defense is stepping up. Just check out this hit safety Dax Hill put on Stafford. The quarterback was lucky to get up after this sack.
With Cincinnati’s offense doing nothing of substance throughout the game, the team needed its defense to step up. That’s exactly what star linebacker Logan Wilson did in picking off Stafford. It was a huge play to end momentum for the road team. It was also an absolutely terrible decision from Stafford.
Los Angeles might very well have something in the Matthew Stafford to Tutu Atwell connection. That included connecting on a 37 yards pass early in the second quarter to set up the Rams’ second field goal of the game and a 6-3 lead.
Atwell entered Monday night having caught 13 passes for 196 yards in two games this season. Over the course of his first two NFL seasons, the small receiver hauled in a mere 18 passes.
Cincinnati was able to finally able to get on the board early in the second quarter after driving down the field 48 yards on 12 plays for a field goal. Joe Burrow completed 7-of-9 passes on that drive, but they went for a combined 39 yards. It’s clear he’s going with the short passing game as the quarterback continues to struggle through a calf injury.
Los Angeles thought it had the first touchdown of the game on an end around from wide receiver Tutu Atwell. Ultimately, officials on hand ruled him out of bounds at the two yard line. You be the judge.
The team had to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. This came after Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson missed a field goal on its first possession of the game.
Former Bengals star Chad Ochocinco was in attendance for the big Monday night clash, sporting a Ja’Marr Chase jersey while amping up the home crowd.
Rams fans showed up, too. Star defensive tackle Aaron Donald was out on the field signing autographs before the game.
Related: NFL QB rankings
Los Angeles Rams injury report
- Cooper Kupp, hamstring (OUT)
- Stetson Bennett, non-football injury (OUT)
- Hunter Long, thigh (OUT)
- Ochaun Mathis, knee (OUT)
Cincinnati Bengals injury report
- Irv Smith, hamstring (OUT)
Los Angeles Rams inactives
- RB Zach Evans
OL Kevin Dotson
OL Warren McClendon
DL Earnest Brown IV
Cincinnati Rams inactives
- WR Trenton Irwin
HB Chris Evans
TE Irv Smith Jr.
C Trey Hill
OT Jackson Carman
DT Jay Tufele
CB DJ Ivey
Everything you need to know about Monday Night Football Week 3
- Week 3 NFL injury report
- Week 3 NFL power rankings
- Week 3 NFL offense rankings
- Week 3 NFL defense rankings
- How the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl rosters have been reshaped
