GLENDALE, Ariz. -- For the second straight week, the Arizona Cardinals were staring at a deficit on the scoreboard when the second quarter started.

For the second straight week, they had to claw their way back into the game.

And for a second straight week, it wasn’t enough in a 34-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Arizona trailed 10-0 by the time the first quarter ended at State Farm Stadium on Sunday thanks to an offense that produced two three-and-outs for zero yards to begin the game. The Bengals scored after each of those drives, putting the Cardinals in a hole before the foam had settled on most of the beers in the stadium.

"We got behind the eight ball a little bit," coach Jonathan Gannon said.

When the Cardinals have started fast, quarterback Joshua Dobbs said, they lock in and execute early. Not Sunday.

“I think that starts with me,” Dobbs said. “Two three-and-outs to start the game is not our standard at all on offense.”

A sack on the second play of the game didn’t help Arizona’s cause, and Dobbs overthrowing wide receiver Marquise Brown, who was open on a deep ball during the next drive, was a critical missed opportunity early.

“It's on me to get us starting faster, clean execution to start the game, and I think that will set us up for more success throughout the game,” Dobbs said.

Dobbs finished 15-of-32 for 166 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

When Arizona fell behind early, the players didn’t think anything changed.

But on the sideline, Gannon said the Cardinals had to find a different approach.

“I think that when you are spotting a team points, that affects playcalling on all three sides,” Gannon said. “And not to say that you gotta be able to come from behind, and that's early in the game too, but, yeah, we have to make sure that we're not spotting teams points, which we've done the last two weeks now.”

Against the San Francisco 49ers last week, the Cardinals trailed 7-0 after the first quarter and were behind 21-3 in the second quarter.

But in both games, Arizona regrouped -- albeit at different times.

The Cardinals responded on Sunday by scoring two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14-10 lead, which they eventually lost before halftime. Against San Francisco, the Cardinals pulled within 21-16 in the third quarter.

Arizona has been outscored by 8 points in the first quarter, a point differential ranked 24th in the NFL. However, the Cardinals’ margin of plus-28 points in the second quarter is the third best in the league. When combined, their margin of plus-20 first-half points is the 10th best.

Arizona has been outscored in the first quarter in three of its five games this season.

In the two they weren’t, the Cardinals either won or jumped out to a huge lead.

In their Week 3 win over the Cowboys, the Cardinals outscored them by six in the first 15 minutes. A week earlier, when Arizona jumped to a 20-0 lead over the New York Giants in the first half, it outscored New York by seven in the first quarter.

And the only game this season that the Cardinals were outscored in the second quarter was last week against the 49ers.

On Sunday, the Cardinals weren’t bothered going down early, said Brown, who pointed out it’s a 60-minute game and they were just 15 minutes into it.

“I thought the response was extremely well by the offense,” Dobbs said. “You're down 10-0. No one blinks, no one flinches. You go down, you execute, and you score two touchdowns in the blink of an eye, and that's the expectation that we expect really on every drive.

“Like, the opportunities are there. The plays are there. Like, we know the defense across from us is going to make plays. We're not oblivious to that, but when the opportunities are there, man, we gotta capitalize, starting with myself, to set the tempo to start the game and then that will echo throughout the offense.”

So how do the Cardinals fix their recent first-quarter woes?

“Staying ahead of the sticks,” Brown said. “Can't play in those third-and-long situations, but if we do, we gotta find ways to convert. And I feel like it just comes down to execution, all 11 guys on offense, just doing their job.”