Joe Burrow Had Extremely Blunt Comments After Bengals’ Shutout Loss to Ravens

The Bengals were shutout as Joe Burrow threw two interceptions against the Ravens.

Joe Burrow got blunt after the Bengals’ loss to the Ravens. / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Days after Joe Burrow indicated it’s tough to have fun playing football given all he’s been through during his birthday press conference, the Bengals laid an egg as they got shut out by the Ravens 24-0. Just two weeks after the Bengals forced five turnovers and defeated the Ravens in Burrow’s return from a turf toe injury, they failed to score a single point as Burrow put in what he called “one of the worst games I’ve played.”

The Bengals did move the ball decently well early on in the game, taking the football into Baltimore territory on their first two drives. They were in field goal position on their first drive until Burrow took a sack that forced them to punt instead. On the ensuing drive, Burrow threw an interception, and things only went downhill for the Bengals from there on out.

Burrow, who finished the game 25-of-39 for 225 yards and two interceptions, took the brunt of the blame after the game. “There is not a quarterback in the league that would have won with the way I played today,” Burrow said.

Joe Burrow speaks to the media following Week 15 against the Baltimore Ravens.

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— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 14, 2025

“We haven’t been a good football team,” Burrow also stated. “Bad football teams do losing things. If you're wanting to complete for championships and be in the playoffs, then No. 1 your quarterback has to play better than I did today."

Burrow pointed to “uncharacteristic mental mistakes” and unforced errors on his part for his poor play. He did refer to this performance as an outlier, but it came at a costly time as the Bengals were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Looking ahead, Burrow does want to play in the Bengals’ final three games of the season, even with the dream of a run to the playoffs out of reach. On an optimistic note, Burrow said he feels the Bengals aren’t that far from being at a championship level.

“My comments had nothing to do with Cincinnati,” Burrow added. “My comments had everything to do with me and my mindset.”

Ja’Marr Chase, Burrow’s top wideout, acknowledged that he might need to help uplift Burrow more going forward.

“If I’m being honest, I’ve never been in a situation with him where I’ve had to uplift him, but going forward I might need to because he does it for me,” Chase said. “You never know what he might be going through. I might need to start doing that.”

“If I’m being honest, I’ve never been in a situation with him where I’ve had to uplift him, but going forward I might need to because he does it for me. You never know what he might be going through. I might need to start doing that.” Ja’Marr Chase on Joe Burrow pic.twitter.com/RDwsnlx28m

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) December 14, 2025

Uplifting Burrow won’t solely fall on Chase of course. With the Bengals’ slim postseason hopes now officially gone, it’s time for the team to turn their focus to the offseason and building around Burrow. With Burrow in his prime, it’s critical that the Bengals provide their star quarterback what he needs to win and find the fun in football again.

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