What Joe Burrow, Shemar Stewart and Other Bengals Said Following Preseason Loss to Eagles

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 34-27 on Thursday night in their 2025 preseason opener.

There were plenty of bright spots, including the play of Joe Burrow. There were also some ugly moments, including a shorthanded first-team defense that struggled. The Bengals' defense struggled for most of the night—especially in the first half, giving up three touchdowns and a field goal, forcing just one punt.

Watch video of Burrow's reaction at the top of this page. Get the reactions of Shemar Stewart, Orlando Brown Jr., T.J. Slaton and Tahj Brooks below:

Here is a transcript of Burrow's postgame press conference:

On the Bengals’ offensive success on the first two drives:

“Yeah, I missed the first throw, so that was a little disappointing. But after that we locked in and had a couple of good drives.”

On his TD throw to Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase:

“Yeah, we've seen that one before. He's going to keep doing that, so let's try to get that guy the ball.”

On whether the TD to Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase was similar to one last season against Dallas:

“Yeah, they zeroed us this time, so we were able to get it out quick.”

On whether he played enough snaps to have felt comfortable:

“Yeah, we still have a ways to go obviously, but it was a good start.”

On the most beneficial thing from playing:

“I don't know, it's hard to say. It's just good to play football again. The more reps you get at it, the better you're going to be at it. So I think we got 15 reps tonight, so we're 15 reps better.”

On what he takes from the TD to Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase:

“Yeah, it was a good rep. Unbelievable play by him. Obviously he makes that play consistently, so just try to get that guy the ball.”

On how plays like the TD to Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase can be made to look so simple:

“You got two really good players and sometimes the simple plays are the ones that are the best because you rep them so many times, you know all the nuances to them.”

On what he thought of the Bengals’ offensive line:

“Yeah, I felt really comfortable back there. I thought the pockets were great. Guys just have to keep getting better.”

On how important it was to complete the TD play to Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase:

“I'm not sure how important it is. It's good to feel – like I said, the more reps that we get playing this game, the better you're going to be at it. So that's a good rep.”

On how he feels he’s spinning the ball right now:

“Today was average. Today was average. But overall I'm happy with where I'm at. Next week I'd like to be a little better.”

On the fact that he doesn’t seem overly impressed with how he played or the whole situation tonight and what he did not like:

“I wouldn't say I didn't like anything. I think for myself I could have been better. I missed the first throw. I put all the other ones where I wanted to put them. I would've liked to have spun it a little better consistently today. But we had scored two touchdowns, so go learn from a couple reps and get better.”

On Bengals RB Chase Brown and the role he will play this year:

“Yeah, he's going to play a huge role for us this year. He caught one out of the backfield today. If we get four, five, six yards every carry, every time we hand it to him, that's going to pay dividends.”

On how he said today was average and had one incompletion:

“It was a bad throw. It's a bad throw.”

On after he left the game and whether anything stood out about the rest of the team:

“We got to be better. Too many procedural penalties, too many errors. Things like that are going to happen, but I think it just wasn't clean enough across the board.”

On what makes Bengals TE Tanner Hudson so productive:

“He's a big, long target. He's a really smart player, knows the coverages that he's facing, can feel the zones when he wants to sit down and give you his hands. He's a guy that since he got here I've had a lot of faith in. He just makes plays over and over again and eventually when you make plays like that consistently, you're going to find yourself having more opportunities.”