Bengals Beat: Joe Burrow Knows He Needs To Take More Deep Shots – When They’re There To Be Taken

CINCINNATI — No one needs to remind Joe Burrow how bad Sunday looked.

The team couldn’t score through the air and was limited to one 5-yard touchdown run from Zack Moss. They could amass just 164 yards passing and their leading receiver – Ja’Marr Chase – had six catches for just 61 yards.

The 16-10 home loss to the rebuilding Patriots set off alarms, including the one sounded by Dan Orlovsky on Monday on ESPN. Orlovsky told everyone that something looks seriously off about the Bengals offense and Burrow not driving the ball down the field.

It wasn’t exactly Tom Jackson’s “they hate their coach” from 2003 but perhaps it will light a fire under Burrow and company.

“Yeah, of course, you miss that,” Burrow said. “I just miss playing football. I miss being out there with the guys, so it’s a luxury right now to be criticized by all you guys about how we played on Sunday, because I was sitting in the wings for seven weeks last year. So I’m just excited to be out there.”

Dig at Burrow. He fires back with his own brand of wit.

Burrow and the Bengals get a shot at redemption this weekend, with Burrow playing in KC for the first time since the 2022 AFC championship loss.

The obvious is that the Bengals didn’t take any genuinely deep shots against the Patriots. The longest was a 28-yard connection over the middle to Ja’Marr Chase, a pass that Chase himself said after the game he thought could’ve gone for six if he were led beyond the safeties.

The Patriots played defensively like they knew the Bengals weren’t going to threaten them and their Tampa-2 looks with the deep safeties.

Did the wrist factor in the lack of attack deep downfield?

“No. Absolutely not.”

What remains to be seen this week against Kansas City is whether Burrow and the Bengals will have the time to take deep shots against the Chiefs with nemesis and all-world defensive lineman Chris Jones barreling down on Burrow.

How important is it to make an effort to push it down field, despite what defense is doing?

It depends on the looks you are getting. If we’re getting 1-on-1, I need to take advantage of those opportunities. If we’re not, I’m not going to force things and throw interceptions. I’m going to take what the defense gives me, and that’s in my opinion part of why I’ve been so good.

The key for Burrow is taking advantage of the looks he does get that affords him the chance to attack one-on-one looks. That’s why he knew immediately after the game that he missed Ja’Marr Chase on the outside on first down on the final drive of the game.

“We can obviously do a much better job of taking advantage of those 1-on-1 opportunities, and there were a couple on Sunday that we didn’t, so we need to do a much better job of recognizing that, myself included, but I’m going to continue to play the game the way I feel I need to play to win the game.”

Until Burrow starts clicking, just like with the calf strain in 2023, people are going to obsess over his right wrist and how it may be limiting his performance. The latest obsession came over video of Burrow picking up a water bottle and rolling his wrist on the sideline in the second half Sunday.

“I picked it up, weird? I don’t know. I drink water. Can’t say I have seen that or know what anyone is talking about,” Burrow said. “I didn’t see that one, so I am focusing on the day-to-day trying to get better. We got better (Wednesday). We had a really good practice.”

Burrow was 21-of-29 for just 164 yards Sunday with no touchdowns. There was no fear in the eyes of the Patriots Sunday. But it’s Game 1 and 16 left to prove what you’re going to be for the entirety of the season.

Burrow wants to put up the numbers as much as anyone but what he really wants in terms of production are wins. And he believes in the process of building toward Sunday more than just thinking about Sunday. Burrow is truly trying to break everything down into details and build them like a puzzle leading to gameday.

“That’s how you get better. That’s how you improve,” Burrow said. “That’s how you hit the goals you want to hit. I’m not just going to sit here and focus on playing well Sunday on a Wednesday practice. I am going to go out and focus on my fundamentals and focus on what I need to do to get better today. Immerse myself in the gameplan and understand it full and wholly so I can go out and then play well on Sunday. So I’m going to focus on that day to day.”

Burrow understands that until the results are there, people are going to have doubts about the offense and the Bengals in general. Every year with Burrow is a Super Bowl shot in the minds of Bengals fans.

“That’s part of playing quarterback in the NFL,” Burrow said. “You are going to get scrutinized if you don’t play up to the standard that you have set for yourself. I have set that standard for myself. I needed to go out there and hit that. I didn’t on Sunday. Going to continue to get better and look forward to another opportunity on Sunday.”

It was Burrow’s first full game since November, and probably unrealistic to expect him to immediately put up big numbers.

“That is always tough when you are coming back from injury and haven’t played in a while,” Burrow said. “Wasn’t quite sure how I was going to feel. That’s part of it. Week 1, nobody is panicking. Sat up here and said that before. Unfortunately, we are in the same spot after Week 1, but we got another opportunity on Sunday and 15 more opportunities after that to go and get better and show what we are all about. We’re excited for that.”

Missed tackles galore:

According to Lou Anarumo, the Bengals staff counted 14 missed tackles on Sunday against the Patriots, a new low for the Bengals defense in the six years he’s been in Cincinnati. When you have that many missed tackles, that leads to the 85 yards after first contact that the Bengals gave up on the ground Sunday to Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson.

“That’s a six-year high,” Anarumo said. “Like I stood in there and told them on Monday, that when we’re cooking and we’re playing good defense, I stand up here and I tell you, ‘Good job. We had five missed tackles for 12 yards.’ That’s what we’re used to. Fourteen for whatever it was is too much.”

Like to talk:

Cam Taylor-Britt is not about to shy away from the challenge of facing the speed of the Chiefs receiving corps. And he’s not about to shy away from his dislike of Kansas City.

“I don’t like them,” Britt said of the Chiefs. “I don’t think I like a lot of teams. We see them a lot and it didn’t turn out the way we wanted the last time out.”

He said he’s ready for the back-and-forth banter with the likes of Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown and Isiah Pacheco.

“I don’t shut up. I don’t shut up,” Taylor-Britt said. “I don’t care. I don’t give a damn.”

But don’t think he doesn’t respect the talent in Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

“Those are two hall of famers, man. That’s who it goes through.”

Injury report:

Three Bengals showed up on the injury report with knee issues, including Logan Wilson and Tanner Hudson, both of whom did not practice Wednesday. BJ Hill, injured late in Sunday’s loss, was limited with a knee injury while Tee Higgins again was out from practice, instead spending the time getting treatment for his hamstring strain. Amarius Mims was back at practice and taking part in sled and punch drills, a sign that he could be ramped up and ready for Sunday. Kris Jenkins did not practice and is still nursing a right thumb injury that required surgery last Friday.