A Faction of the Cincinnati Bengals Fan Base is Misguided, and Joe Burrow Explains Why

Jay Morrison | Dec 6, 2024

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws from the pocket in the first quarter of the NFL Week 13 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – There is a small segment of the Cincinnati Bengals fan base that thinks the team should sit quarterback Joe Burrow, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and other key players for the final five games.

Eliminate any risk of injury and preserve the team’s rapidly shrinking margin for error.

“Ignorant” might be too strong of a word, so let’s call this a “misguided” mindset.

That’s not how football works.

And it sure as heck isn’t how Burrow works.

He’s intent on hitting the homestretch of the season the way distance runners close races, with a strong final kick.

“Keep fighting,” Burrow said adamantly during his weekly news conference, fresh off winning his first career AFC North Player of the Month award.

“I’m going to give it everything I have. There’s still a lot to play for,” he added. “Playoffs are probably out of reach. Personally, and I know everybody in the locker room feels the same way, these are valuable reps to go and prove yourself, prove how you've worked all offseason, prove you can be a guy that can be counted on going forward.”

Burrow referenced the cornerstones of the organization in his postgame press conference following the 44-38 loss to Pittsburgh that slammed a spike through the heart of team’s playoff hopes.

Who are those cornerstones?

“I don’t have an answer for you right now,” Burrow said. “But the next five weeks will say a lot.”

That’s plenty to play for. For everybody.

And there’s obviously more. Both Burrow and Chase don’t just have a chance to set multiple franchise records, they are on a fast pace to do so.

And Burrow has a chance to do something only one other player in league history has done, win a second Comeback Player of the Year award.

He was asked if that award would be meaningful to him.

“Very much so,” he said. “It’s not exactly an award people want to be up for. But I find myself in that position. That one would mean a lot to me.”

Burrow won it in 2021 after coming back from his ACL surgery, and he’s currently a heavy betting favorite to capture it again this season while playing at an elite level with a surgically repaired right wrist.

After trailing Kirk Cousins for most of the year, Joe Burrow is now the heavy favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/6xwOz8RWji

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) December 3, 2024

The only other player to win multiple Comeback Player of the Year awards was Chad Pennington, who captured it twice in three seasons while playing for different teams – 2006 with the New York Jets and 2008 with the Miami Dolphins.

Burrow’s current statistical ranks:

Passing Yards: First, 3, 337

Passing Touchdowns: First, 30

Passing Touchdown-Interception ratio: Third, 6:1

Total QBR: Third, 74.1

Passer Rating: Fourth, 107.4

“Whether you come back from injury or not, I always expect to play at the peak of my abilities and be productive and give ourselves a chance to win,” Burrow said. “I think I’ve done that.

“I didn’t play as great as I wanted to early on, but that’s how it usually goes,” he continued. “I get better as the season goes. I think I’m playing my best ball right now.”

You don’t just pull the plug on that out of fear of the maybe.

Burrow was even more demonstrative when asked about personal accolades for teammate and friend Chase.

Would he take pride in helping Chase win the Triple Crown?

“Hell yeah. Absolutely,” Burrow said before making his clear he’s keeping tabs. “He’s second in receptions. I hope we can get him that.”

Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers leads the league with 83 catches, while Chase has 79, which has him tied with Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Chase leads the league in receiving yards with 1,142. College teammate Justin Jefferson is second with 1,038. No one else has more than 900.

And Chase has a big lead in touchdowns with 13.

Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown and Washington’s Terry McLaurin are tied for second with nine, and both of those players only have four games remaining to Chase’s five.

Personal accolades aside, Burrow made it clear he simply loves playing football and he intends to make the most of his remaining five opportunities to put on a Bengals uniform.

And the next chance to do will be even more meaningful, Burrow said, because it’s on Monday Night Football.

“I always like playing on primetime,” he said. “I like showcasing my abilities and hard work and putting that on display in front of the world.

“I think whether you like it or not, how you perform on primetime games matters as far as perception across the league,” he added. “That's when people watch. That's when most people pay attention. And so you have to be consistent. But I think if you perform great on primetime nights, then you start to get a little different reputation across the league.”

Since entering the league in 2020, Burrow leads all quarterbacks with a 7.7:1 passing touchdown-interception ratio in primetime games (regular season contests that begin after 7 p.m.).

He has 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions in primetime.

Burrow’s 285.3 passing yards per game rank third. Only Patrick Mahomes (287.6) and Drew Brees (286.8) have more during that span.

And Burrow is fifth in passer rating (99.6), trailing Aaron Rodgers (113.2), Brees (109.6), Josh Allen (104.5) and Lamar Jackson (101.1).

While Monday is the last scheduled primetime game for the Bengals, they have a chance to make two more appearances if they can string together some wins.

The Bengals-Broncos game is one of five tilts eligible for three Saturday slots in Week 17, with one of those being an 8 p.m. kickoff.

And every game is eligible to be flexed into primetime in Week 18. If the Bengals can win four in a row to keep their slim hopes alive heading to Pittsburgh for the finale, that win-and-in, lose-and-out possibility is exactly the type of scenario the league looks for when deciding which game to flex into primetime for the season finale.

The more chances under the light the better, according to Burrow.

“I want to win, but I want to be fun to watch,” he said. “I always want to be fun to watch. I want people to see my command of the offense and accuracy and playmaking ability and everything that I bring to the table.

“But I want people to tune in to the Bengals and want to watch us. And I think people do. I take pride in the fact that we're exciting. I'm exciting to watch. That's something that I take pride in.” 

It’s nonsensical to think he and/or the Bengals would want to shut that off.

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