No mercy, no chance: Lions throttled by Bengals to drop to 0-6

The Detroit Lions are now 0-6, but Sunday’s loss to the Bengals was the worst of them all.

It’s been a season of lows and lowers for the moribund Detroit Lions. With a no-show on Sunday, they may still be new depths to reach in 2021.

Joe Burrow threw for three scores, and the Cincinnati Bengals won their seventh straight contest against the Lions in a 34-11 romp on Sunday at Ford Field. After the Jacksonville Jaguars’ last-second victory earlier in the day, the Lions are now the NFL’s lone winless team at 0-6, with head coach Dan Campbell still searching for his first victory as Detroit’s head coach.

This is the Lions’ worst start to a season since 2008, when they became the first team in league history to go 0-16. If they don’t find some answers soon, talk an 0-17 finish could start to heat up.

Lions flaws were everywhere in blowout loss to Bengals

Rookie running back Chris Evans’ first NFL touchdown gave the Bengals a quick lead on their first possession, a lead they would never surrender. The Lions accumulated just one first down and 51 net yards of offense in their fourth shutout half of the season.

Joe Mixon’s 40-yard touchdown reception on a 4th-and-one put the Bengals up 17-0 late in the third frame, setting an impossible hole for the Lions to climb out of.

Jared Goff continued his uninspiring season under center for the Lions, finishing with 202 yards on 28 of 42 passing (4.8 yards per completion) with an interception. Running back D’Andre Swift ran for the Lions’ lone touchdown late in the fourth quarter, his fourth score of the year.

Burrow went 19-for-29 for 271 yards to go with three touchdowns and an interception. Mixon finished with 153 total yards and a score for Cincinnati. Detroit ceded 398 yards to the Bengals, while only putting up 228 yards of offense (36 rushing) themselves. The Bengals possessed the ball for almost 12 minutes more in the game (35:52 to 24:08)

The Lions have not beaten the Bengals since November of 1992.

It gets no easier for the Lions. A visit to the Los Angeles Rams and former quarterback Matthew Stafford is on the slate for Week 7, next Sunday, October 24th at 4:05 p,m. EST.