The Cincinnati Bengals are facing an uphill battle for the postseason after a heartbreaking defeat by the Baltimore Ravens 41-38 in overtime. Despite all this, Joe Burrow is playing the best football of his career and seemingly has to do it all to give the orange and black a fighting chance. Burrow was stellar going 30-39 with 392 yards passing and five touchdowns and had the Bengals up 10 points on three occasions in the second half. Burrow’s otherworldly performance was to no avail as the defense let their quarterback and the team down as Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ offense consistently gashed them en route to the devastating divisional loss. Let’s examine the Bengals signal caller closer to see if he gets them back on track in 2024.
Joe Burrow Is Playing Elite Football Despite Bengals 1-4 Record
Strong Start
The numbers behind Burrow’s torrid start are hard to fathom for a team with such a poor record through five games. In the young season, QB1 has thrown for 1370 yards and thrown 12 touchdown passes with only two interceptions. If you look across the NFL, the case for Burrow to be in the MVP conversation is solid.
Joe Burrow would be in MVP conversation if not for the #Bengals 1-4 start.
Touchdown passes (12) – 1st
Passer rating (113.6) – 1st
Completion % (72.2) – 2nd
Passing yards (1370) – 3rd
40+ yard passes (5) – t-1stInsane coming off wrist injury.
(Will update after week 5)
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) October 6, 2024
The wrist injury suffered last season doesn’t seem to hamper his ability to push the ball downfield and that’s been the most encouraging part of his game for Bengals fans. The tough pill to swallow is that he feels he has to play perfectly for the team to have a chance to come away victorious.
Friendly Help
Burrow isn’t shy in mentioning how important it is to get the ball in the hands of his star playmaker Ja’Marr Chase as much as humanly possible. That’s exactly what the Bengals need more of moving forward with a defense as porous as theirs. This connection was in full effect against the Ravens as the duo tried to will Cincinnati to victory. The latest 193-yard and two-touchdown performance put Chase in wide receiver rarefied air.
Ja’Marr Chase passes Jerry Rice for the 5th-most receiving yards by a player through 50 career games.
Unreal start to his career.
📺: #BALvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/7bG1XstDUO— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
In tough times, you need your best players to carry you through. That’s what Burrow and Chase seem to be intent on doing to salvage the Bengals season with 12 games left.
Leadership 101
Burrow has been very open about the type of leader he prefers to be. He’s not the rah-rah get-in-your-face type. He’s more of the lead-by-example player that he hopes permeates to others. This style has been tested to the limits thus far and may need to change. Burrow has noted how difficult conversations have been had after the loss yesterday, “There have been tough conversations had. I think our coaches are handling it the right way. And whenever you’re 1-4 — whenever you’re in a tough situation — there are going to be tough conversations that are going to be had, that guys aren’t going to like. Those conversations have been had. So I’m happy with how we’re going about it. We obviously have to win more. That’s no secret, but I think people are (handling it) the right way.”
It’s also no secret Burrow is the franchise and the leader of this team, they need him to change stripes in the way he connects with his teammates if they aren’t performing up to his standard. It’s time for that voice to get a lot louder and stronger. The Bengals’ slim playoff hopes depend on it.
Main Photo: Sam Greene/The Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
