Arizona Cardinals vs Cincinnati Bengals

CINCINNATI -- — Ja'Marr Chase caught two touchdown passes from Joe Burrow, who threw for 305 yards as the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Arizona Cardinals 37-14 on Sunday. Chase finished with seven catches for 60 yards and became the first player in NFL history with at least 80 receptions, 1,000 receiving yards and seven TD catches in each of his first five seasons. Burrow passed for 300 yards or more for the 28th time, tying Andy Dalton for the most in franchise history. “He's playing like I know Joe to play,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “It's fun to watch. We all just want to finish the season the right way.” Chase Brown rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns as the Bengals (6-10) improved to 3-2 since Burrow returned from left toe surgery. In the lone bright spot for Arizona (3-13), Trey McBride had 10 catches, giving him 119 this season to break the NFL single-season record for a tight end. He surpassed Zach Ertz’s 116 receptions in 2018 and also broke DeAndre Hopkins’ Cardinals franchise record of 115 catches, set in 2020. “I’m proud of him,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said. “He’s one of the best players out there. I’m down about the team and I know he’s down about the team, but I don’t want to overlook that. He has had a fantastic year.” The Cardinals had the seventh-ranked pass offense the league, but the Bengals' improved defense held them to 233 total yards. Jacoby Brissett threw for 212 yards and two TDs but was sacked four times. “Our defense really set the tone the past two weeks and our offense countered off that,” Taylor said. The Bengals scored on their first two possessions. Chase caught a short pass from Burrow, broke one tackle, spun away from another defender and dived into the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown. It was his first TD since Oct. 16 against Pittsburgh. “I walked into the building today telling myself I'm going to make sure I get in there some sort of way,” Chase said. Samaje Perine's 1-yard TD run capped a 12-play, 79-yard drive. Evan McPherson missed the extra-point attempt and the Bengals led 13-0. The Cardinals drove 70 yards in five plays for their first points. Michael Wilson's 38-yard touchdown reception, his fifth TD catch in four games, made it 13-7. Wilson had five catches for 89 yards. Chase's 8-yard TD catch put the Bengals ahead 23-7 with 1:15 remaining before halftime. The Bengals had possession for more than 22 minutes in the first half. Cincinnati then drove 84 yards in 11 plays on its first possession of the third quarter, capped by Brown's 6-yard TD plunge. “We know they can score a bunch of points,” Gannon said. “I think it really comes down to, for me, third down. They converted a bunch. We didn't.” Gadget play works for Cincinnati The Bengals ran a trick play in the third quarter, with Burrow completing a 21-yard pass to right tackle Cody Ford to set up Brown's second rushing TD. Ford broke two tackles before being brought down at the 2-yard line. “When you get the ball in those guys' hands, their eyes light up like a kid at Christmas,” Burrow said. Injuries Cardinals: LT Paris Johnson was placed on season-ending injured reserve. He missed the previous two games with a knee injury. Bengals: CB Josh Newton was inactive with a hamstring injury, and CB Bralyn Lux was elevated from the practice squad. RT Amarius Mims left in the second quarter with a right shin injury and was replaced by Ford. Up next Cardinals: At the Los Angeles Rams next weekend. Bengals: Host Cleveland next weekend. ------ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl