ESPN’s Michael Wilbon gives the Bengals more motivation by dismissing Joe Burrow’s confident statement
Long-time ESPN personality Michael Wilbon is not ready to crown the Cincinnati Bengals. Wilbon dismissed Joe Burrow’s assertion that the 2026 Bengals feature the “most talented roster” he’s ever been a part of.
Long-time ESPN personality Michael Wilbon is not ready to crown the Cincinnati Bengals.
Wilbon dismissed Joe Burrow calling the Bengals’ roster “the most talented” he’s ever been on, and listed four other AFC teams still ahead of them in his own rankings.
Michael Wilbon isn’t yet sold on the Bengals
“That’s fine, I don’t make much of it,” Wilbon said on ESPN’s Get Up. “They’re gonna be better on defense, they’re also in the division with Baltimore, which is a whole lot to prove. And Lamar Jackson coming off this subpar season where they weren’t even a factor.
“I don’t know if I’m listening to Joe Burrow proclaim how great they are as, ‘Oh I’m gonna put them above Buffalo in the AFC?’ No. Am I going to put them above Baltimore in their own division? No. Above New England? No. I don’t know that I’m going to have them above the Chargers.”
The Ravens project as Cincinnati’s biggest adversary in reclaiming the AFC North crown this year, but Wilbon took it a step further by listing out other contenders in the conference as superior to the Bengals.
In making Burrow’s other bold statement a reality, that’s who they have to get past anyways.
Bengals’ main competitors for another Super Bowl run
The Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, and New England Patriots all went to the playoffs last season. New England went as far as Super Bowl LX and lost to the Seattle Seahawks.
All three clubs, along with Baltimore, can be expected to compete with Cincy to represent the conference in Super Bowl LXI. Burrow has already put it out to the universe about his plans for the Bengals and that game.
“We’re gonna go win a lot of games this year and play great, and win a Super Bowl, and everything that comes with that comes with that,” Burrow said during his recent press conference.
The Kansas City Chiefs should also not be omitted from the group with Patrick Mahomes II coming back from a torn ACL. Kansas City also has to get past the reigning AFC West champion Denver Broncos.
There’s plenty in the way of the Bengals from winning their first Super Bowl in 59 years of existence. That will naturally come with skepticism, and with that comes motivation.
More motivation never hurts
Burrow and the rest of the Bengals should already have plenty of motivation in the bank entering this season. Cincinnati has missed the last three postseasons, and Burrow himself has missed 16 games since his last trip to the playoffs.
To Wilbon’s point, the defense should improve, but that was supposed to be the case last year.
Only those within Paycor Stadium really know how all of this new talent is meshing together entering the second half of the offseason. Wilbon and other talking heads will need to see proof of concept before raising expectations back to where they were in 2022.
The doubters will be aplenty until there’s nothing left to doubt. The Bengals can use that to overcome what will already be a pressure-packed season.