Cleveland sportswriter makes big mistake and gives entire Bengals roster some bulletin board material for Week 1
The last thing the Cincinnati Bengals need is any bulletin board material entering their Week One matchup against the Cleveland Browns. Cincinnati has plenty of motivation to perform well in Week One as they're eager to get the bad taste from last season's AFC Championship game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs out of their […]
The last thing the Cincinnati Bengals need is any bulletin board material entering their Week One matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
Cincinnati has plenty of motivation to perform well in Week One as they're eager to get the bad taste from last season's AFC Championship game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs out of their mouth.
But if someone's going to offer up some bulletin board material, the Bengals might as well use it.
And that's exactly what longtime Browns beat writer Tony Grossi did on Tuesday morning.
"I don't think they're (the Browns) intimidated," said Grossi on ESPN Cleveland on Tuesday. "I think the Browns feel [like] 'we've got his number' — particularly Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward. And Burrow himself has talked about this. He hates the fact that he can't beat this team. He did last year in Cincinnati, finally got it out of the way. But I think the Browns feel they have the edge."
Grossi isn't saying anything that's untrue (it's clear from the clip above that Burrow doesn't love that he's struggled at times against Cleveland). The Browns definitely had Burrow's number until last December when the former LSU star finally got a win against Cleveland (he was previously 0-4). And I'm sure the Browns won't be intimated in Week One when they face Burrow and the Bengals.
But at the same time, these comments are just going to give Burrow and his teammates a little more juice when they line up against the Browns on Sunday.
Cincy's players know that there's a narrative that Cleveland has Burrow's number. And they'll be hoping to crush that narrative on Sunday afternoon when they head to Cleveland Browns Stadium for the season-opener.
The Bengals would be wise to pass these quotes around the locker room. I can't imagine they'll be happy to hear about another team "having their number" ahead of a season where Cincy has Super Bowl aspirations. Cincinnati will certainly be looking to send a message against the Browns this weekend.
Ja’Marr Chase is using Joe Burrow to voice concerns to the Bengals front office
Cincinnati WR Ja’Marr Chase is using QB Joe Burrow to voice his concerns to the Bengals front office
Featured image via Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
