Burrow has always been “more of a lead-by-example kind of guy,” but with a lot of young guys the team is counting on, he thinks it might be helpful for them to hear his voice. He said he has always picked his spots when to do that in the past and he could do it more in certain situations.
That starts this week when the Bengals play the Carolina Panthers on the road Sunday.
“I’ve always been the guy who focuses on what I have to do and speaking up within technical aspects of football with routes and concepts and things like that, but never really a big picture vocal kind of guy,” Burrow said. “I think that’s more of what I’m talking about, big picture, work ethic stuff like that.”
Burrow said J.T. Barrett was a really good example of a vocal leader that he has been around when the two played together at Ohio State. Barrett was a fiery guy who gave pre-game speeches that amped everyone up, and although Burrow doesn’t envision changing that much, he said it was impressive to watch.
Cincinnati lost some of its big leaders over the past couple of years with guys like D.J. Reader, Joe Mixon and Tyler Boyd departing. There are still other vocal guys on the team, but as the quarterback and someone who doesn’t usually say a whole lot, Burrow’s words might carry some extra punch.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor noted Burrow is as genuine as a player comes, and that authenticity is why others will listen to him. As the Bengals face what most would call a “must-win game,” Burrow said it’s critical players understand the position they are in and how the urgency needs to heighten in a tough spot.
“At some point you can only say so much and you’ve got to go out and play and everybody’s got to be focused on what they can do to get better every day,” Burrow said. “There’s only so much you can do or say to help that.”
Burrow said he believes there has been coach-to-player and player-to-player accountability, and coaches have been clear about what needs to improve and players understand and take those things to heart. He didn’t sense any red flags going into any of the first three games to indicate they were going to go the way they did.
Cincinnati lost all three in different ways, but they were all one-score games.
Burrow threw touchdown passes on each of the Bengals’ last three drives in Monday’s five-point defeat to the Commanders; however, missed opportunities in the first half caused them to have to play catchup in the second-half. Cincinnati needs to have the same kind of urgency displayed on those final three drives to start Sunday’s game at Carolina.
“We just have to do that earlier,” Burrow said. “Get in the end zone early again. Keep putting points on the board and that urgency is going to be high every week.”
The Bengals face an uphill battle to reach their goals of a postseason run being in such a deep hole to start. Only six of 255 teams to start with three straight losses have made the playoffs in the Super Bowl era.
Burrow said the postseason is “the furthest thing” from mind right now because the Bengals just need a win on Sunday. Then, they can go from there. He described Carolina’s defense as “really solid” with aggressive corners and stout interior linemen who will provide a challenge for Cincinnati’s offense.
Jadeveon Clowney, a former AFC North foe, is one of the obstacles Burrow will have to overcome as a dynamic pass rusher he has a history with, but Burrow said he forgot Clowney was the player that hit him when he injured his wrist last year at Baltimore. Clowney has four sacks and seven quarterback hits in seven meetings against Burrow with Tennessee, Cleveland and Baltimore since 2020.
“He’s going to get back there and you’ll take some hits from him,” Burrow said. “That’s football.”
About the Author