Joe Burrow puts pressure on Bengals to show-up and beat lowly Raiders

Joe Burrow has made it clear the Cincinnati Bengals are in a must-win situation. He said it after the Bengals’ 37-17 loss to the Eagles and he doubled down on his stance ahead of their game against the struggling Las Vegas Raiders as well. 

And as much as I appreciate the optimism, let’s call a spade a spade. It’s a long shot for the Bengals, which entered 2024 with high expectations, to reach the playoffs. They opened the year with three straight losses, have only beat teams with a losing record and haven’t quite figured it out. 

"This is the situation that we find ourselves in," Burrow said. "We know what we have to do going forward, and we're going to attack that challenge to the best of our ability. And try to give ourselves the best chance to win with my play and try to continue to be as consistent as I can and try to find a win."

Burrow is saying what needs to be said. Maybe it’s his way of igniting a fire into his team to focus on what matters, which is winning the rest of the way. But in the process, he’s also adding a lot of pressure on his teammates.

Joe Burrow puts pressure on Bengals to show-up and beat lowly Raiders

As if Cincinnati didn’t already have pressure on themselves, their leader added just a little bit more. 

The Bengals have underperformed this season. Burrow has actually been playing well. He’s thrown for nearly 2,000 yards with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions. Unfortunately, it’s the defense holding the Bengals back. 

They’re in the bottom of the league in just about every category defensively. Sunday could be a tune-up game – game for them to figure out what to address. If they go into the bye week at 6-5, they have something to work with to finish out the last half of the season. 

If they don’t get three-straight wins, it could be the beginning of an implosion. Burrow knows what this team is capable of. That’s why he has put pressure on his squad. But it could backfire and the pressure could overwhelm them rather than inspire them.