The Week 3 game brought shattering news for the Bengals’ fans. The Cincinnati Bengals welcomed the Commanders at their Paycor Stadium on Monday, September 23. And the irony is, the hosting team lost their home game to the away team with 5 points.
Joe Burrow and his team scored 33 points and found themselves limited to Washington’s 38. No doubt it was a close game, and a 5-point loss, but the concern here is the team hasn’t opened its winning account yet this regular season. Nevertheless, if you ask the quarterback himself what he thinks about it, he will respond with confidence, just like he did post-game.
Joe Burrow is feeling optimistic after 3 back-to-back losses?
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After the Monday loss, Bengals QB Joe Burrow appeared in a presser, to talk about the Commanders game. He said, “We were pretty consistent all day….We’re not happy with where we’re at, but by no means is the season over 0 and 3, 14 left to play. We just have to continue to get better and see whether the cards fall in next 10 weeks whenever the bye is, so we just got to go into this week preparing to get better and trying to get a win so I can do it.” So, that means, Burrow has clearly stated that three losses doesn’t mean their season is over. Instead, he and his squad will return to winning mode once again.
Well, it sounds similar to what Patrick Mahomes said yesterday after winning his game against the Falcons. He too mentioned that the team needs to improve as they didn’t play well offensively. But his comments came after the team won three back-to-back games.
However, here in Joe Burrow’s case, although he believes their season isn’t over, the three-game losing streak is definitely causing concern among fans. And if the Bengals want to enter the playoffs this time, it needs to step up at the earliest.
Meanwhile, although it seems everything is fine in Cincinnati, a broiling tension has somewhat taken place in the locker room.
What’s your perspective on:
Is Joe Burrow trying too hard to be Patrick Mahomes instead of playing his own game?
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The Bengals are frustrated from the inside?
After the Commanders game, things felt different in Ohio. Instead of heading straight to the locker room, Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor walked together through a separate entrance, making their way to the coach’s office. Probably because they needed to talk about what was wrong.
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While talking to the media post-game, Burrow called their conversation a positive one, but, indeed, he didn’t hide the frustration. Sitting at 0-3 isn’t where anyone thought they’d be. But, as Burrow pointed out, there are still 14 games left. So, he thinks, there’s time. Really?
Well, what’s stinging even more this time is that two of those losses came against teams that didn’t exactly light up the league last year. Both Washington and New England barely scraped four wins in 2023. Yet, Cincinnati couldn’t pull ahead, losing by no more than seven points each time with these teams. And hence, it’s a matter of stress in the locker room.
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Therefore, acknowledging the same, besides Burrow, Taylor admitted that the team just hasn’t found its rhythm. He expressed, “There hasn’t been one unit that’s really dominated to take the pressure off the other unit, so this falls on everybody. It’s frustrating. It’s a kick in the gut when you put in all this work in the offseason, in training camp, and you feel really good about the team and you start off 0-3.”
Nevertheless, now, the focus shifts toward the next game, i.e. against Carolina. And guess what? This time, the team will face their former quarterback Andy Dalton on Sunday, with a chance to turn things around. So, it remains to be seen who wins this one. Will Joe Burrow be successful? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Is Joe Burrow trying too hard to be Patrick Mahomes instead of playing his own game?