If there were any doubt as to how the Cincinnati Bengals would handle falling to 4-4 after a brutal, ugly primetime loss to the Browns, Joe Burrow himself stepped to the mic and shut it down.
Buy Bengals TicketsAsked about how he’s handling things as the Bengals sit at 0-3 in the AFC North, Burrow put out what is perhaps one of his best quotes ever — and one the locker room will undoubtedly see and follow.
“As you play more football and you have more experience under your belt, you learn how to handle it,” Burrow said, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “Just like last week we were the best offense in the league and now all of a sudden we stink and everyone thinks we’re gonna miss the playoffs and we’re gonna lose all these games. It’s such a roller coaster each week and I think part of being quarterback is staying even-keeled throughout the season, throughout games, because everything is so up and down and you kinda need that voice and that level-headed mindset on the team and that’s part of your job as quarterback.”
It rings true too considering Burrow had just won weekly honors after the team dismantled the Falcons in a big win the week prior. Now they’re the subject of endless speculation about the season being lost.
Burrow and others have pointed to last year as a similar thing. They exited the bye at 5-4 with serious questions, got hot and went to the Super Bowl. To do the same this year, though, they’ll not only have to get hot — they’re fighting much, much worse injury luck than last year.
Regardless, it’s hard to doubt a leader and player like Burrow too much.
