'It's a tough pill to swallow' — Joe Burrow makes the obvious known as Bengals continue to fall short when it matters
It's never been more apparent that the best QB-WR duo in the NFL is rostered by the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase are playing like the best versions of themselves in the primes of their careers. They gave everything they had on a short week against arguably their most competitive rival team in […]
It's never been more apparent that the best QB-WR duo in the NFL is rostered by the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase are playing like the best versions of themselves in the primes of their careers. They gave everything they had on a short week against arguably their most competitive rival team in their house.
And it wasn't enough. Again. The trend is as sickening as it is obvious.
The Bengals fell to the Ravens by one point, 35-34, after failing to put a two-point conversion into the end zone with 0:38 on the clock.
There were two penalties that could've been called on the Ravens on that play. Tight end Mike Gesicki getting held in the end zone, Burrow getting hit in the helmet and then pulled by his facemask. Neither one drew a whistle.
NFL officiating missing obvious flags right in front of them is nothing new, and neither is the Bengals falling short on their own in these exact situations.
The Bengals are now 4-6 on the season, a record that doesn't inspire confidence about a late push for the postseason. The AFC North is pretty much out of reach after dropping both games to the now 7-3 Ravens. A wildcard spot feels comparatively farfetched outside of winning six of their final seven games.
Half of Cincinnati’s six losses this season have come against the top dogs of the AFC. The Kansas City Chiefs capitalized on a defensive pass interference call in a 26-25 win back in Week 2. The Ravens captured good fortune in a 41-38 victory in Week 5.
Thursday night was the perfect third act of a nightmarish trilogy. The Bengals are 0-3 against the apex AFC predators, losing by a combined five points.
"This one's been frustrating," Burrow said bluntly about not turning close games into wins this year. They're now 1-5 in one-score outcomes.
Honestly, what more is there to talk about? The Bengals were up 21-7 midway through the third quarter. Running back Chase Brown fumbled 31 yards away from the Ravens' end zone and five plays later, the home team kickstarted a 21-0 run that lasted until 5:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. Burrow and Chase did their thing and connected on a 70-yard touchdown pass to bring it back to 28-28 only for the defense to give up a fourth-straight touchdown drive the next possession.
Once more, Burrow and Chase delivered in the closing seconds, carefully following my wise friend Gabby's advice: "It's all about clock management." Knowing that an extra point would risk an overtime loss just like a month ago, they went for two in hopes of preventing history being repeated. You know the rest.
Burrow finished with a season-high 426 passing yards and four touchdowns. He's thrown nine in the last five days. Chase caught three of those touchdowns and accounted for 264 of those yards. That they were in this win-or-lose situation is crazy to begin with, but it's the undeniable theme of their season.
"You look at how we're [Chase and I] playing and then you look at Trey Hendrickson, how he's playing, it's a tough pill to swallow," Burrow said. "It's tough when you feel like you're playing well enough to win and you're not, but there's always more to do."
Burrow knows this is where the focus should lie rather than torching the refs at the podium. In a high-leverage situation, the whistles are likely getting swallowed.
"You're not getting those calls in that situation for the most part," Burrow said after the game.
It doesn't even matter the in-game scenario, Burrow is so used to being battered in the pocket that a non-call doesn't even phase him.
"I feel like I've never really gotten those calls, so I don't really expect that," Burrow said. "I felt like there were a couple that were close, but again, I don't expect that."
We can spend countless hours crafting think pieces about the problems with NFL officiating and how it unfairly determines outcomes. The Bengals aren't the first team to have a case from this season alone, and they absolutely won't be the last.
It stinks, but the smell of the Bengals' inability to put good teams away smells worse. A problem this apparent makes the concept of a playoff run laughable.
Andrew Whitworth reveals how he would’ve handled Bengals’ dilemma with Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase
The Bengals’ legend speaks on what Cincinnati should’ve done.
