The Cincinnati Bengals walked out with a win, but the star QB Joe Burrow wasn’t celebrating the way a franchise quarterback usually does after surviving a tight one. His tone told the story that the Bengals vs Ravens wasn’t a game Cincinnati controlled. It was a game they escaped.
And the reason was simple. Their red-zone offense sputtered, stalled, and forced them to rely on the kicker far more than any contender should ever be comfortable with.
Burrow didn’t hide from it. When asked what went wrong near the goal line, he didn’t sugar-coat the issues or deflect blame. Instead, he delivered an honest breakdown of a unit that kept moving the ball… only to freeze the moment the field condensed.
Joe Burrow Gives Credit to the Defense That Stifled Them
When a female NFL reporter asked Burrow, “What were the issues in the red zone that you saw?” He took a deep breath. “Well, I’m trying to think. There was, I think, for the most part, you just got to give credit to them,” Burrow said.
He added, “They mix up their looks down there. There would be zero pressure on us. They doubled Jamar. They singled Jamar. They did a lot of different things down there. At the end of the day, we got to make plays and put more in the end zone.”
Burrow believed that the Ravens’ defense rotated coverages, alternating between zero pressure and more conservative looks. They made life miserable by constantly shifting their approach to Ja’Marr Chase, that is, doubling him, singling him, showing pressure only to bail out and making it impossible to settle into a rhythm.
Burrow also added, “We can’t kick six field goals. But that’s the kind of game that it was. With our defense playing the way that it was. And the way we were running the ball. It was a kind of game. Obviously, the one that really hurt was when we got the turnover down there and came out with no points. Typically, something like that happens. It’s gonna be tough to win the game, but we were able to pull it out.”
The franchise QB’s message was clear. The offense got the win, but not the standard. And Burrow knows that if Cincinnati keeps leaving touchdowns off the board, their luck will run out fast.
Despite moving the ball well between the 20s, the Bengals’ offense produced six field goals. It was a number Burrow flat-out said is unacceptable for a team with championship expectations. He pointed to one moment in particular. The turnover that gave Cincinnati a prime scoring position only for the drive to implode with zero points. Burrow admitted that’s the type of sequence that usually costs teams games.
Burrow emphasized that the Bengals leaned heavily on their defense and run game, calling it a “take-your-points kind of game.” Still, he didn’t shy away from the bigger truth. If they want to beat better opponents, they can’t keep settling for field goals.
Joe Burrow’s First Game Back After Injury: How He Felt About the Return?
Joe Burrow’s Thanksgiving night game carried extra weight because it wasn’t just another start. It was his first game back after recovering from a significant injury setback. He had been sidelined after suffering a toe injury that required a couple of weeks’ rest, which needed constant evaluation before he was cleared to return. Though the Bengals HC Zac Taylor was optimistic.
After the game, Burrow opened up with rare honesty about what it meant to finally be back under center. “You certainly have those moments after the game,” he admitted, acknowledging the emotional toll of the long road back. He also added, “Certainly hasn’t been easy on me through six years from a lot of different angles. But I’ve worked really hard to put myself in a position to be back out there. And a lot of people around me have done the same.”
Burrow detailed the countless hours in the training room, the discussions with medical staff, and the sheer volume of work required to reach this point. His pride in the return was obvious: “I’m proud to be back.” The highlight for him? The touchdown throw to Andrei “Yoshi” Iosivas for 29 yards in the 3rd quarter. “I felt pretty good about it… It was put right where I wanted it. Didn’t exactly spin it the way I wanted it, but that’s all right… that one felt good.”
Then came the line that summed up the entire journey. “There’s no better feeling than that. Putting in work for a long time and going out and paying off,” Burrow confessed.
Standing on the field again, leading a group of teammates he respects, and walking away with a win made the moment even sweeter. As Burrow said, “We’ve got a lot of games left.”
But this one meant more than most. It marked the end of a comeback and the beginning of what Cincinnati hopes is a full, healthy run with their franchise quarterback back where he belongs.