Would Joe Burrow love the Cincinnati Bengals to be undefeated right now and setting the pace in the playoff race?
Yes.
Does he like being 4-3 and counted out and/or doubted by so many people outside of Paycor Stadium?
Also yes.
Burrow has had doubters at every step along his journey to the NFL, with everything from his arm strength to hand size questioned. Even after his record-breaking, Heisman-winning season at LSU, some opined much of his success was due to passing game coordinator and rising coaching star Joe Brady.
Some thought he wouldn’t be the same after the ACL tear. Then he took the Bengals to the Super Bowl.
Some thought that season was a fluke. Then he led the team to back-to-back division titles for the first time in franchise history and carried them back to the AFC Championship Game.
Joe Burrow Thinks the Bengals Can Do Anything They Want
Pushing back when the odds are against him is one of the many things Burrow does well. But he said he doesn’t think it’s a special trait.
“Anybody can do anything they want if they’re willing to work for it,” Burrow said. “Nothing’s going to be handed to you. But as long as you put in the work to get somewhere, you’re going to get there eventually as long as you don’t quit.”
The latest layer of doubt has to do with the Bengals working their way back into playoff contention after a 1-3 start. Not only are they 0-2 in the AFC North Division, they’ve yet to beat an AFC team.
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The Bengals are 4-0 against the NFC and 0-3 against their own conference, a fact Burrow weighed with a shrug.
“The season plays out how it plays out,” he said. “We would love to be 7-0, but that’s not where we’re at. We just played our best game of the year, and we’re gonna build on it and go from there.”
MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart
In addition to currently sitting ninth in the AFC playoff race, the Bengals have the second-hardest remaining schedule.
But the Bengals have been in this position before. They were 5-4 at the bye in 2021, then went to the Super Bowl. They were 5-4 at the bye last year, then ripped off 10 consecutive wins to earn a rematch with Kanas City in the AFC Championship game.
This year’s bye came with them sitting a disappointing 3-3 due to Burrow missing training camp with a calf injury and spending the first month of the season figuring out how to play through it.
Of the eight teams ahead of the Bengals in the AFC, six are on the schedule. Cincinnati will see one of them, Pittsburgh, twice.
But it starts with Sunday’s playoff rematch against the Bills.
“We’re gonna have to beat teams like this if we’re gonna get where we want to get to,” Burrow said. “It’s a great team with a great quarterback and a really good defense, a team that obviously we played in the playoffs last year, and we have a chance to play again. So it’s gonna be a fun one.”
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