The Cincinnati Bengals’ winning streak isn’t because of Joe Burrow suddenly playing well, Cameron Heyward reminded reporters on Tuesday. In fact, he has been playing well all season—it’s the rest of the team that has been playing better.
Burrow is on an unparalleled streak, with seven consecutive games of 300-plus yards and at least three touchdown passes. The only problem was the Bengals were still losing in spite of the numbers he was putting up. If they had a better defense, Heyward would surely agree, he would be squarely in MVP conversations. Instead, they are desperately clinging to slim playoff hopes in Week 18.
“He was on a heater when he played us”, Heyward said of Burrow, via the Steelers’ website, when asked about any concerns regarding his recent hot streak. “It’s not like they didn’t score 30 points. I have a lot of respect for what they do on offense. They’re able to get up and down the field. He’s feeding those two beasts, [Tee] Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. We have to force him into situations where they’ve got to take risks. Or we can get turnovers or sacks. But it’s a full-time job covering those guys”.
And Heyward is right, of course—it’s not as though they didn’t get Joe Burrow at his best on Dec. 1. Against the Steelers, he went 28-of-38 for 309 yards and three touchdown passes. He did throw an interception and had a strip-sack returned for a touchdown. But the Bengals still scored 38 points, 31 on offense.
On the season, the Bengals rank sixth in scoring offense at 28.3 points per game. Over their four-game winning streak, they have averaged 29.5 points and have averaged 32.25 points over their past eight games. Yet they went 1-3 in the first group of four and 4-0 in the second group—while scoring slightly less. And Joe Burrow threw more touchdown passes during that 1-3 stretch than in the 4-0 run.
So it’s not about Burrow. It’s about the Bengals finally starting to play around him in a complementary way. That means a defense that is occasionally capable of making a play. They have held their last four opponents to under 30 points, which for them this season counts as an achievement.
The only difference in Joe Burrow’s recent performances versus his play against the Steelers is the fact that Pittsburgh made a couple of difference-making plays against him. And the one interception he threw was off a pass batted at the line by Cameron Heyward.
No, the Steelers already know what they’re getting in Joe Burrow. What they have to worry about is if the Bengals aren’t going to bury themselves around him. If they’re not going to beat themselves, Burrow alone is hard to beat. But they already knew that, and they’ve already beaten him once this season.
