Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon cut loose like he was in the open field over the weekend before “Monday Night Football” against the Buffalo Bills.
Asked about the upcoming matchup that has major AFC playoff seeding implications at stake, Mixon made it clear where he thinks things stand.
“At the end of the day, what people got to realize and understand, (we’re) the big dog of the AFC and that’s just what it is,” Mixon said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “For anything to happen, it goes through us. We know what our end goal is and in order to get to that end goal we’ve got to get through Buffalo. We’ve got to keep one week at a time and everything else takes care of itself.”
Mixon’s not wrong considering the Bengals are the defending AFC champions. They’re not the No. 1 seed right now, but there’s reason to say the Bengals have earned the right to talk like this, even if some might consider it bulletin board material for opponents.
But a Mixon quote about Bills linebackers caught fire on social media too.
“They’re a solid linebacker group. But I mean, they’re not the Ravens. They’re good, you know what I’m saying?” Mixon said. “They get paid, too. I’m not saying they’re not good. But they’re not the Ravens, you know what I’m saying? They’re the team that limits that type of shrinkage in the pass game like that.”
The comments were part of a bigger quote about the matchup but the above segment is what went semi-viral. Again, not technically wrong, though it also walks the line of bulletin board material.
Notably, a swagger like this from the Bengals probably stems from the fact the players feel underrated despite the Super Bowl trip, AFC North lead and seven-game tear going into primetime. Now the task is backing up the talk against another serious Super Bowl contender with everyone watching.
