Joe Burrow blames himself first, even though the Bengals gave up a fourth-quarter lead seven times last season. The Pro Bowl quarterback, addressing reporters recently, reflected on the 2024 season that saw them miss the playoffs. While they finished the season strong, they only reached 9-8, the hole they dug too deep to climb out of.
“If I had played even better, we wouldn’t have been in that spot that we were in”, Burrow said, via the Bengals’ website. “I just focus on getting better myself, and I feel like everyone in the locker room feels the same way. If I go out there and play better than I did last year, then it doesn’t matter what goes on anywhere else”.
Burrow is, of course, being a good leader, and saying the right things. Any quarterback in his position should probably say something similar in front of the media. Even though he personally had an excellent season, pointing fingers is never a good look. And the Bengals don’t need help making themselves look bad, as often as not.
Doing the obvious thing and taking Joe Burrow first overall in 2020 is, of course, perhaps the greatest thing in the history of the Bengals franchise. They have doubled their total playoff wins under him with 10 in total. He brought them to the brink of a Super Bowl title, and he wasn’t the reason they didn’t finish the job. And they came close again a year later, though things have gotten sidetracked since then.
Burrow had a fantastic individual season in 2024, looking purely at the numbers. He went 460-for-652 with a 70.6 completion percentage. He threw for 4,918 yards with 43 touchdowns to just 9 interceptions. There isn’t a whole lot that he didn’t do that he could have reasonably done, but the Bengals’ defense let them down.
Of course, he can’t just come out and say that, even if he has dropped a hint or two. Joe Burrow has been vocal in his support for Trey Hendrickson, for example, their top pass rusher. Increasingly, it appears they have no intention of budging in a contract dispute with him.
The Bengals did lock up Burrow’s top targets, this offseason, with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins being the headliners. But while they dominate the press, Cincinnati also extended TE Mike Gesicki, an underrated move.
Clearly, the Bengals understand where the strengths of their team lie. They also understand that they need to keep this offense together for Joe Burrow, who controls the fate of their franchise. But Burrow also sees where they need help on the other side of the ball. Yet since he can’t say that, all he can do is look at the man in the mirror.
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