Listen, I’ve been a Cincinnati Bengals fan since I came home from Good Sam. I love Joe Burrow. I think he has a real shot to become the greatest quarterback in franchise history, and I absolutely believe that if the Bengals are ever going to win a Super Bowl in the near future, Joe Burrow will be one of the biggest reasons why.
But please, Joe—don’t come back on the field to lead this Bengals team. Not with this defense. Not with a left tackle moving like the Tin Man, and not with two rookies in front of you who sometimes look exactly like rookies. Not with a 3–7 record. Maybe not even with this head coach.
No amount of Burrow’s on-field wizardry—of which there is plenty—is going to drag this roster into the playoffs. That would take a miracle or blessings from whatever higher football power is supposed to be out there. This is Cincinnati. That doesn’t happen here. Even if Burrow plays like the MVP he is, he can’t put 60 points on the board. And that’s about the number required for the Bengals to consistently win football games right now.
He threw for nearly 4,900 yards, 43 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions last year, while Ja’Marr Chase won the Triple Crown… and the Bengals still missed the playoffs. Why? A lot of reasons—but a dumpster-fire defense was one of them.
And that dumpster-fire defense has now done whatever it is my kids say Pokémon do—it evolved into a full-on landfill blaze. And unless someone believes Joe Burrow can also rush the passer, stop the run, and tackle, no amount of No. 9 is going to fix that.
If Joe won’t listen—if he’s convinced that rushing back from an injury is the right move when Joe Flacco is perfectly capable of taking the beating—then a “coach” needs to step in. If your franchise quarterback wants to be the savior, somebody has to rein him in.
If he plays, the best-case scenario is a sequel to 2024. Worst case? Burrow aggravates that turf-toe injury—or, if the football gods really have it out for us, something worse.
Of course, there’s the whole issue of head coach Zac Taylor being on the hot seat amid a 3-7 start. Rushing Burrow back just reeks of desperation to save Taylor’s job and keep everything the same going into next year.
So please—someone inside Paycor—this season is lost. Don’t risk what’s left just to make things even worse. That’s not the “all-in” approach any of us want.
Do you agree? Sound off.
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