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Ben Baby, ESPN writer
CINCINNATI — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow rubbed his chin and looked ahead as he reflected on what’s next for the team in the midst of a very disappointing season.
Sunday’s 44-38 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was the latest setback for a team that entered the year with championship aspirations. Once again, Burrow said the playoffs were the furthest thing from his mind as Cincinnati’s chances of making the postseason diminished considerably.
And with five games left, Burrow said how players respond will say a lot about how the roster is built going forward.
“I think we’ll learn a lot about who we have in the locker room: the guys we can count on in the future and the guys we can’t,” Burrow said after the game.
Cincinnati’s fifth-year quarterback and the rest of the offense did a lot early to keep the Bengals (4-8) in contention for a crucial victory in the AFC North. But again, the offensive firepower wasn’t enough to overcome Cincinnati’s defensive woes.
The Bengals allowed 520 total yards, matching a season high, and allowed 44 points, although seven came on a Burrow sack that was returned for a touchdown by the Steelers.
The Bengals are the first team in NFL history to lose four or more games while scoring at least 33 points, according to ESPN research.
When asked about the disparity between scoring and success, receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who leads the league in receiving yards (1,142) and receiving touchdowns (13), said it’s hard to process that Cincinnati couldn’t get a win. The Bengals have lost four of their last five games, including three in a row.
“It’s kind of an expectation now,” Chase, who had a team-high 86 receiving yards and a touchdown in the loss, said of the offense having such a small margin for error.
According to ESPN Research, only six times in league history has a quarterback averaged 275 or more passing yards per game and had at least 30 touchdowns and five or fewer interceptions in 12 games in a season. Of those six, Burrow is the only one with a losing record. And four of the last five to do so have won the league’s MVP award.
Burrow also set the record for most losses in a season (five) after throwing for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a single game.
However, he wasn’t perfect on Sunday against the Steelers (9-3). Burrow had an interception of a batted ball and had two sacks that were turnovers, including the scoop and score by Pittsburgh linebacker Payton Wilson in the fourth quarter that sent fans for the exits.
As the losses pile up, Burrow acknowledged the accumulated weight he carries on this team.
“I feel the pressure on me to be great,” Burrow said. “That’s part of playing quarterback in the NFL. I just have to play to the best of my abilities every week so we can win. Some games I have. Some games I haven’t.”
He had a very noticeable limp as he walked through the locker room after the loss. He said he received a cut on his right leg on the first play of the game, causing a cut that caused significant bleeding. He’ll know more about how he feels physically on Tuesday, he said.
Burrow said the team needs to change “a lot of things” after another AFC North loss.
In 2021 and 2022, the Bengals won back-to-back division championships and went 7-5 overall against division foes, tying the best record in the AFC North during that span. Cincinnati is just 2-8 in these types of games over the last two seasons.
And as a franchise quarterback playing on a five-year contract worth $275 million, which is tied for the second-highest average annual value in the league, Burrow said he will find the best ways to let management know what he needs. . change moving forward.
“This is a difficult season and the cornerstones of this organization will be remembered by more people than just this season,” Burrow said. “We will be remembered for how we handled this.”
