Bad call, blown kick spoil Joe Burrow's Bengals debut
by Bill BenderOptimism ran high this offseason in Cincinnati with the arrival of No. 1 overall draftpick Joe Burrow.
Burrow nearly led the Bengals to a victory over the Chargers in his NFL debut, too. Cincinnati trailed by three points with 3:08 remainingbut had the ball at its 13. Burrow,the close-to-home hero, led his teamto the LA 3-yard line for at least a game-tying score.
Then back-to-back unfortunate events doomed it.
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Burrow appeared to throw a go-aheadtouchdown pass to A.J. Green with seven seconds left, but Green was called for offensive pass interference.
The call was questionable at best.
That pushed the ballback 10 yards, but kicker Randy Bullock still had a chance to send the gameinto overtimewith a 31-yard field goal attempt.
Bullock, however, missed wide right.
Bullock appeared to suffer an injury on the play, too.
Burrow finished 23 of 36 for 193 yards and an interception in his debut. He also rushed for 46 yards and a TD.
The Bengals resume action Thursday against the Browns, who lost 38-6 to the Ravens in Week 1.