Bengals’ Joe Burrow on the Chiefs: ‘They’re the gold standard right now’
The Cincinnati Bengals entered the 2023 NFL season with hopes of making a third straight AFC Championship Game appearance, but things went off the rails early.
Quarterback Joe Burrow was hurt in training camp and aggravated that calf injury early in the season. The Bengals lost three of their first four games before winning four straight as Burrow seemed fully healthy.
Houston topped the Bengals in Week 10, then Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury in the following game, a loss to Baltimore. Cincinnati won four of its last seven games but finished with a 9-8 record and out of the playoffs.
In an interview with ESPN, Burrow said he is pondering changes to how he prepares for the upcoming season.
“I’m still kind of deciphering that in my mind, thinking about how I can mitigate that going into this year,” Burrow said. “Whether it’s gaining weight, changing my training, changing my lead-up to training camp that month before, we’re still working through all that and seeing where I want to be.”
While out with the wrist injury, Burrow watched the Chiefs get their season back on track by beating the Bengals in Week 17 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
That eliminated the Bengals from the postseason. The Chiefs didn’t lose again, winning their regular-season finale, igniting another Super Bowl championship run. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes won a third Super Bowl MVP.
Burrow took note of the Chiefs’ success and how the Bengals can copy it.
“The blueprint is right in front of us,” Burrow said. “We watched it unfold. I feel really good about that matchup for our team. We just have to put ourselves in that position next year to have that opportunity at the end to go and win it.”
The Chiefs have been in the last six AFC Championship Games and advanced to four of the past five Super Bowls. They’ve won the Lombardi Trophy three times in that span.
Burrow, who will be entering his fifth NFL season, is hoping to emulate the success had by Mahomes and the Chiefs.
“They’re the gold standard right now,” Burrow said. “They’ve been to what, six straight AFC championships and four of the last (five) Super Bowls?
“So that’s where we want to be.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2024 at 9:28 AM.
