Joe Burrow's 5 turnovers, missed kicks by Evan McPherson stymie Cincinnati Bengals in first game since Super Bowl LVI

CINCINNATI — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow sat at his locker, legs outstretched, staring ahead in a room that had mostly emptied.

If he was trying to make sense of what happened in Cincinnati's season opener, he wasn't alone. The Bengals endured a day that featured several turnovers, an upended kicking game and a rocky outing in a 23-20 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Cincinnati's first game since Super Bowl LVI, Burrow committed five turnovers, the Bengals missed two chances to win the game and were left with a sour result.

«We had our chances,» Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. «To lose the turnover battle five to nothing, to have kick operations ruined on two kicks that both would have won the game, is disheartening in that way.»

Chris Boswell's 53-yard field goal at the end of overtime allowed the Steelers to escape with a win and snap a three-game losing streak against their AFC North rivals.

Burrow threw a career-high four interceptions and lost a fumble in the team's loss. He was also sacked six times. And yet, the Bengals still were in a position to pull off an improbable win.

«Obviously, you don't want to throw four picks,» Burrow said. «But I never panicked. We stayed even-keeled and we came back and put us in a position to win.»

At the end of regulation, Burrow threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase to tie the game at 20 with two seconds left. But Steelers defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, who returned an interception for the touchdown on Cincinnati's first drive of the game, blocked the potential game-winning extra point. Cincinnati's special teams unit had a shot at redemption in the extra period. Bengals kicker Evan McPherson missed a 29-yard field goal that could have won