Joe Burrow calls loss to Ravens 'a tough pill to swallow;' can Bengals rebound?
Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals were dealt another crushing blow on Thursday night, losing on the road to the AFC North-rival Baltimore Ravens, 35-34. With 38 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Cincinnati failed to convert a go-ahead, two-point conversion, and then didn't recover the onside kick.
After the game, Burrow referenced the Bengals' second loss to the Ravens this season, which dropped them to 4-6, as a "tough pill to swallow." But is there still enough time for Burrow & Co. to right the ship and make the playoffs?
On Friday's edition of "Breakfast Ball," Danny Parkins expressed bewilderment at how Cincy is in this inauspicious position.
"This Joe Burrow season, I really don't want it to be wasted," Parkins said. "The Bengals' defense in their six losses has just been atrocious. They have been giving him [Burrow] nothing. One sack per game. Teams are scoring touchdowns 71% of the time in the red zone [on them]. … Joe Burrow is not playing poorly in their losses. In the losses, he's still giving you 300 [yards]; he's only thrown two interceptions; they're scoring 26 [points] per game; you're not supposed to have six losses averaging 26 points per game.
"He is having an MVP-caliber season. He won't win it. Lamar [Jackson] is ahead of him. [Josh] Allen will probably be ahead of him, teams with better records. But this is as good as we've ever seen Joe Burrow play, and he could easily miss the playoffs in a watered-down AFC."
Burrow has totaled an NFL-high 2,672 passing yards, 123 rushing yards, an NFL-high 24 passing touchdowns, four interceptions and a 108.1 passer rating this season, while completing 68.7% of his passes. Wideout Ja'Marr Chase has totaled a league-high in receptions (66), receiving yards (981) and receiving touchdowns (10). Defensive end Trey Hendrickson has totaled a league-high 11.0 sacks.
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On Thursday night, Burrow totaled 428 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 108.3 passer rating, while completing 60.7% of his passes (34 of 56). Meanwhile, Chase reeled in 11 of those completions for a stunning 264 yards and three touchdowns.
As a whole, Cincinnati's offense is averaging 254.8 passing yards (third in the NFL), 89.7 rushing yards (29th), 344.5 total yards (12th) and 27.0 points (sixth) per game. On the other hand, its defense is surrendering 220.2 passing yards (21st), 127.3 rushing yards (17th), 347.5 total yards (19th) and 26.2 points (26th) per game.
Chase Daniel expressed sympathy for the Cincinnati players who have been performing at an elite level on "The Facility."
"I don't feel sorry for the Bengals, but I do feel sorry for Joe Burrow," Daniel said. "I do feel sorry for Ja'Marr Chase, and I do feel sorry for Trey Hendrickson. Joe Burrow's leading in almost every major passing category. Ja'Marr Chase is leading in receiving and touchdowns. Trey Hendrickson's leading the NFL in sacks, and they aren't getting it done for them right now. But, at the end of the day, you are what your record is. Unfortunately, you're not beating the good teams. The Patriots (2-7) were the one outlier; we don't think they're a good team.
"But, when you put a season like you've been putting together, and you have the leading passer, the leading receiver, the leading sacker, you expect to win more than four games, and, quite honestly, their record could easily be 6-4, but the Ravens were the one that found, in both games, a way to win in the fourth quarter, and that is why, in my opinion, the Ravens are a better team."
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Five of the Bengals' six losses have come against teams with a winning record: Baltimore (7-3) twice, Kansas City (8-0), Washington (7-2) and Philadelphia (6-2). Moreover, each of their four wins have come against teams with a losing record: Carolina (2-7), New York Giants (2-7), Cleveland (2-7) and Las Vegas (2-7).
Next up for Cincinnati is a road matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football in Week 11.
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