Ravens Ready for Rematch Against More Thoughtful Joe Burrow

The Baltimore Ravens are in a free fall. Back-to-back losses against inter-divisional opponents have dropped them all the way from the prospective No. 4 seed into the depths of the AFC's Wild Card race, and just two weeks after embarrassing the Ravens in Baltimore for all to see on Thanksgiving Day, the Cincinnati Bengals gear up for a rematch on their home turf.

The Bengals' own vibes are even stranger than the Ravens' own beleaguered energy. Just two weeks after winning the biggest game of Cincinnati's forgettable season, star quarterback Joe Burrow's thoughts on saving another potentially-lost season sounded darker than ever before.

Delving Into Burrow's Headspace

He returned from several months of being sidelined with turf toe with that emphatic 32-14 win in Week 13, a game that sent both teams rocketing in different directions. While the Ravens left that one looking like more of a paper tiger than ever, the Bengals, now 3-0 with Burrow at the helm, seemed to be putting the rest of the league on alert as the conference's awakened giant.

Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow — Nov 27, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) reacts against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Unfortunately, that tiny sample size could only do so much in propping up the odds that the Super Bowl LVI participants could really march back to the postseason. They went 1-8 in his absence, and failed to carry that momentum into the Buffalo Bills' snow-filled Highmark Stadium, where Burrow's Bengals suffered a 39-34 loss to fall right back down to earth at 4-9.

The star quarterback, fresh off of a confidence infusion, sounded emotionally drained in assessing his headspace amidst another failed, incomplete campaign.

"If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it. I have been through a lot. If it's not fun, then what am I doing it for?" he said at a midweek presser.

Joe Burrow’s presser today felt very reflective — and at times, a bit dark:

"If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it. I have been through a lot. If it's not fun, then what am I doing it for?"

Later on: "There's just a lot of things going on right now."

(via… pic.twitter.com/L84tVy9r5a
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 10, 2025

When asked when his excitement for the game started to change, he said, "I'm not sure there was a singular moment or time, it's just reflection on a lot of things that I've done and been through in my career. I think I've been through more than most, and [it's] certainly not easy on the brain or the body, so just trying to have fun doing it again."

It's hard not to feel for Burrow, who just turned 29 years old and looks on-track to miss at least a half-dozen games for the third time in his six pro seasons. He's the all-time leader in completion percentage at 68.2% with several Pro Bowls and top-four MVP finishes to his name, but as of right now, he's seen as something of a tragic figure as a top prospect who's seen his best years robbed amidst poor health luck and shoddy roster management.

Burrow's Place in his Upcoming Matchup

That Bills loss dropped the Bengals to five games below .500, making their chances of making the playoffs completely dependent on collapses out of both the Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Regardless, he has a golden chance at making the Ravens' attempt at clawing into the postseason difficult in playing spoiler, which he has the chance to at home this weekend. This is a make-or-break matchup for both teams, each looking to avoid falling deeper out of the hunt, and Burrow's outing against a similarly-depleted quarterback in Baltimore's Lamar Jackson will pit two of the less-durable signal callers against one another in their final showdown before year's end.

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