NASHVILLE — Joe Burrow knows something needs to change about the attitude of the Bengals.
That much was obvious from the now-viral video capture on the FOX broadcast of Sunday’s 37-27 slopfest at Nissan Stadium, a score that the books will show went in Cincinnati’s favor but left the most important player on the roster furious with how the Bengals have gone about their business.
If you give Joe Burrow truth serum, his exchange with head coach Zac Taylor at the end of the game – after Cincinnati’s final score – wasn’t just about the sloppiness of 14 penalties, five turnovers and another bushel of missed tackles on defense. Cincinnati’s last defensive series of the day in the final 69 seconds was a joke.
It’s the fact this hasn’t been one-time problem. It started in Week 1 with an absolutely inexcusable home loss to the New England Patriots against a rookie coach who may or may not see Season 2 in Foxboro.
Then there was Jayden Daniels toasting and roasting the Bengals defense for 38 points in a sorry sign of things to come on defense.
Two losses to Baltimore by a combined four points. 518 yards allowed to the defensive-minded but offensively challenged Pittsburgh Steelers. A no-show in the first half against the Chargers. A home blowout to the Philadelphia Eagles when that game was in reach at halftime.
The Bengals should’ve lost last week in Dallas if it weren’t for Leon Lett redux. And on Sunday in Nashville, if the Will Levis doesn’t turn the ball over four times, including a pick-6, the Bengals likely fall to a three-win Tennessee team. Joe Burrow himself almost matched Levis in the turnover department with three.
So when the cameras, following Chase Brown’s touchdown run with 1:09 left in the game, caught Burrow mouthing “Embarrassing,” “F—- that”, “we’re 6 and 8”, “it’s embarrassing” and “we’re 6-and-Fing-8” in a tirade to Taylor, the message was unmistakeable.
Joe Burrow upset about something at the end of the game pic.twitter.com/UvmufpDg2l
— Cincinnati 💔 (@CincyProblems) December 15, 2024
The crap has to stop. It’s too late for this year to matter. But in the offseason, the urgency and culture of the Bengals needs to change.
“I was just frustrated in the day that we had on offense. It was too sloppy, we had too many penalties, too many procedural penalties, I had too many turnovers. It was just a frustrating day on offense,” Burrow said.
“It was just messy. I mean, two penalties. We’re on the one-yard line,” Brown said. “We could have done that right there. And then we went back to the five or the six, and then another penalty. That’s frustrating. Especially when we have a high standard for ourselves and the way that we want to operate. It’s just tough to see that and we want to be better.”
Given a chance to put a silver lining on the win, Burrow briefly acquiesced, acknowledging the win. But then he reminded everyone that the Bengals main goal over the final month is to play to a better standard, that standard we heard so much about on Jan. 2, 2022 when the Bengals clinched the first of their two straight AFC North titles.
“Absolutely, we’re not out of it yet,” Burrow said. “We got to play better than we did today going forward, but we need a lot of help from across the League. Teams beating teams that need to lose for us to get in, but as long as we keep controlling what we can control and keep winning, give ourselves a chance.
“I mean it’s always in the back of your mind until you’re out of it. But we know the chances are very slim. What I’m focused on right now, is playing as good as we can play, myself playing up to my standard. That’s why I was so frustrated, because I didn’t feel like we did that (Sunday).”
There were bright spots Sunday.
Things you love to see: defensive ends catching touchdowns @Sam_Hubbard_
📺: #CINvsTEN on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/oDsJJzlBcM— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2024
But one boneheaded play by Jordan Battle nearly undid it. Leading 31-14, Battle was half a yard from making it 38-14 when he fumbled his fumble return out of the back of the end zone for a touchback. The Titans cut the lead back to 31-21 and the Bengals couldn’t really breathe easy until Brown went into the end zone with 69 seconds left.
“It won’t happen again,” Battle said through a grin of a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar of silly mistakes.
“It’s something we address weekly. We show these clips and it’s not something we can ever have happen,” Taylor said of his messaging, especially to younger players. “It’s within our control. You go two yards across the goal line, letters and logos, it’s very simple. And then you can do whatever you want to do. We preach oftentimes that it’s going to happen to guys that aren’t used to carrying the ball and used to being in that situation. It’s not normally a Ja’Marr (Chase) or Tee (Higgins). So, again, I appreciate that the energy he plays with and a lot of the plays he made, that’s a situation obviously we can’t have, and we expect our team to do better with that going forward.”
Going forward, it’s up to management to bring in players – especially veterans through free agency – that demand more from the younger players in the room. It can’t all be on Joe Burrow. It shouldn’t be. The Bengals may not have a lack of accountable players in the locker room but they certainly play like it.
The Bengals almost certainly won’t make the playoffs but what they need to show in the final three games is an attitude of clean, hard football that gives everyone – including Joe Burrow – that this season will be a one-off and not a troubling trend going forward.
