On Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals fell to 2-1 on the season as they lost 30-27 against the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.
Cincinnati had a chance to tie or take the lead within the last minute of the game as they had the ball in Pittsburgh territory. Unfortunately, Joe Burrow was strip-sacked by Steelers defensive tackle Derrick Harmon and the team lost possession.
Without enough timeouts to regain possession, the Steelers were able to kneel and run out the clock.
After the game, one analyst deemed Joe Burrow a “loser” from Sunday’s matchup against the Steelers despite the quarterback throwing for three touchdowns and posting a 92.2 QBR.
Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow Called a Loser After the Game
Following the game, Bengals Wire’s Chris Roling included Burrow among his list of seven losers. Roling wrote: “Can’t give up the ball with the game on the line, simple as that. Joe Burrow said as much in the presser after the game. The three touchdowns were nice and yes, he shouldn’t have to play hero ball late. But he’s the big-dollar quarterback and things were going fineish on the final drive before the fumble.”
Prior to the fumble, Burrow had likely played his best game of the season. He went 28-for-37 with 282 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Unfortunately, his fumble proved costly in what turned out to be Cincinnati’s first loss of the season.
Burrow’s 92.2 QBR was the second-highest in the NFL in Week 3, trailing only Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Meanwhile, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers ranked 11th in the NFL with a 68.2 QBR.
Joe Burrow’s Comments
Despite his game-losing fumble, Joe Burrow did say that he was pleased with the way the offense moved the ball and that Sunday’s game was the most in rhythm he’s felt.
Burrow said, “I thought we were pretty dang good. We had a couple penalties that set us back that we just can’t have happen. Yeah, couple things procedurally that we’ve got to clean up that put us behind the eight-ball a little bit. Overall, I thought we were pretty good.” He added, “Yeah, felt pretty good today. Felt pretty good today.”
Regarding how he expects Cincinnati to bounce back after suffering their first defeat of the season, Burrow said, “We’ve got no choice. We’ve got to come back, be better, play off each other, and play more sound, situational football than we did today.”
Head coach Zac Taylor appeared frustrated after the game, saying, “It’s disappointing. We want to be 3-0. We put in a good week’s work, had our opportunities. I think anytime you lose a game like that where you had your opportunities — some games you just go get your butt kicked and there’s not much to say about it. This one, we had our chances. Pittsburgh took advantage of theirs. We didn’t take advantage of ours.”
Taylor added, “We just didn’t close it out. That’s all there is to it. We had opportunities, like I said, in all three phases in the fourth quarter. We didn’t get it done.”
Bengals QB Joe Burrow Called a ‘Loser’ After Loss vs. Steelers