Bengals struggle to run the ball in a 37-17 loss to the Eagles

CINCINNATI (AP) — With Joe Burrow at quarterback and an array of talented receivers, Cincinnati has a dangerous passing attack.

When it comes to running the ball, well, the Bengals are struggling.

Cincinnati had just 58 yards on the ground on a 37-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. It averaged just 2.9 yards per carry, continuing a season-long problem.

“We ran it well after the first game, ran it well for a couple weeks in a row there," Burrow said. “The last couple of weeks haven’t been good enough.”

The Bengals (3-5) were trying to reach .500 after posting consecutive road wins against the New York Giants and Cleveland. They rushed for 121 yards and two TDs in their 17-7 win against New York, but they had just 59 yards on the ground in last weekend's 21-14 win at the Browns.

It was more of the same against Philly.

Chase Brown led Cincinnati with 32 yards on 12 carries, including a tying 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Burrow had 15 yards on the ground, and Zack Moss finished with 11 on five attempts.

“It’s not like I called a lot of runs in the first half because we were moving the ball really well the way that we were attacking them,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “We threw the ball well. Sometimes when you’re not making a lot of damage there, you just keep the ball in the air.”

While Cincinnati struggled to run the ball, Philadelphia finished with 161 yards on the ground. Saquon Barkley had 108 yards on 22 carries, and quarterback Jalen Hurts had 37 yards and three TDs on 10 attempts.

Burrow had the passing game going early.

He completed his first eight passes on an opening 70-yard drive. He found Ja’Marr Chase for a 2-yard TD that made it 7-0 with 4:56 left in the first quarter.

Cincinnati was without top receiver Tee Higgins, who was sidelined by a quad injury.

“Whenever you don’t have some of your best players it always makes it tough," Burrow said. "We go out there with the guys we have. That’s the NFL. You’re expected to go out and play well.”

A key fourth-down play at the end of the third quarter swung the momentum toward the Eagles.

On fourth-and-1 from their own 39-yard line, the Bengals decided to throw the ball. Burrow found Chase in the flat, and the star receiver was tackled by rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean for a 2-yard loss.

“Guy made a good play," Burrow said. "We didn’t get the fourth down, they kick the field goal and we’re down 10. Then I throw the pick. At that point, it was an uphill battle.”

When it comes to the rushing game, Bengals center Ted Karras said the team needs to do a better job of executing its assignments.

“It creates more confidence to call more,” he said. "It’s kind of a volume thing. Overall, we need get a head on a hat and get the ball downhill. I’m going to check the tape. We need to get that rolling.”

In a 41-38 overtime loss to Baltimore on Oct. 6, the Bengals led by 10 points on three occasions in the second half but were unable to consistently run the ball to protect those leads.

“When you play good (pass) rushers like we have the past couple weeks, you have to keep them off balance and be able to run the ball,” Burrow said. "If you don’t, play-action isn’t going to be as good and you’re going have to drop back and make plays. That’s what those teams want. It’s tough.”

The running game will be key for the Bengals as they try to make an unlikely playoff push. They are 0-4 at home so far this season.

“I think 10 wins usually gets you in (the playoffs)," Burrow said. "So we have to win seven out of nine. That’s doable. Any game is winnable. Just got to go do it.”

AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow looks to pass against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow looks to pass against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor talks to reporters following an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Cincinnati. The Eagles won 37-17. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor looks on during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Bengals running back Zack Moss (31) is pushed out of bounds by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun, center, and safety Reed Blankenship, left, during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown, left, dives in for a touchdown in front of Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (8) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

SAO PAULO (AP) — Voters in Brazil’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, on Sunday reelected mayor Ricardo Nunes following a tumultuous campaign that had pitted him against a leftist ally of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Nunes, who received lukewarm support from former President Jair Bolsonaro in the campaign, distanced himself from the far-right leader in his victory speech.

Nunes, who inherited the mayorship after Bruno Covas died of cancer in 2021, had almost 60% of the vote to secure another four years on the job, election officials said. He topped lawmaker Guilherme Boulos in the runoff which followed a first round of voting on Oct. 7.

The reelected mayor did not mention Bolsonaro as one of the people who helped him win and championed Sao Paulo Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas, an ally of the far-right leader. The former president's conservative base was split in Sao Paulo by Nunes and Pablo Marçal, who narrowly lost a place in Sunday's runoff.

Nunes thanked “the biggest leader, without whom we could not have had this victory, and that's governor Tarcisio de Freitas.”

Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, said both Lula and Bolsonaro suffered defeats in the various mayoral elections held in Brazil.

“Neither have a positive tally in these elections. Bolsonaro was hidden in several places. Wherever he appeared too much, he lost,” Melo told The Associated Press.

“Lula lost the myth that he can transfer votes," he added. "It isn't that simple, these are different times. His administration might do relatively well in the economy, but it doesn't thrill anyone so far. The president had a big bet in Sao Paulo, in the city of Natal, and did not win.”

Earlier, Gov. de Freitas added another chapter to the metropolis' troubled election. He claimed during a press conference, without providing evidence, that police had detected an endorsement of Boulos by criminal organization PCC.

Boulos, who frequently accused Nunes of harboring members of the criminal group in his administration, said in a press conference the governor should be arrested for his comments during the vote.

The leftist candidate said he was not going to deliver “a loser's speech” after Nunes' victory.

“We lost an election, but in this campaign we recovered the dignity of Brazil's left,” Boulos said. The federal lawmaker will be under pressure to leave his Socialism and Liberty Party for Lula's Workers' Party after the election.

Most of the attention in this year's municipal elections in Brazil has been on Sao Paulo, where the first round of voting was marred by episodes of violence. Boulos, a longtime housing advocate for the poor, had his second consecutive defeat in the race.

Other Brazilian cities with more than 200,000 registered voters were also holding mayoral elections.

In Rio de Janeiro, incumbent Mayor Eduardo Paes was reelected in the first round for his fourth, non-consecutive term. Paes, an enthusiastic fan of Carnival, had Lula’s support but focused his campaign on local issues against Bolsonaro’s candidate, Alexandre Ramagem.

Brazilians were also watching closely for results in Belo Horizonte, one of the country’s biggest cities, where Mayor Fuad Noman beat pro-Bolsonaro candidate Bruno Engler.

The vote in Fortaleza, another of the nation’s biggest cities, was a dead heat between the candidate from Lula's Workers' Party, Evandro Leitão, and pro-Bolsonaro challenger André Fernandes. Leitão won by less than 1%.

Follow AP’s Brazil coverage at https://www.apnews.com/hub/brazil

FILE - A view of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a signing ceremony of a compensation agreement for damages caused by the 2015 collapse of the Mariana dam owned by the mining company Samarco, a joint venture of Vale and BHP, at the Planalto Presidential Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)