Joe Burrow learning his voice in Bengals’ season gone sideways: ‘I expect greatness’

Even at the age of 28, Joe Burrow has experienced nearly all that the game of football offers. He’s played for an Ohio high school state title. He’s won a national championship and Heisman Trophy. He’s reached the Super Bowl, recovered from major injuries (twice), become the highest-paid player in the league, set franchise records and even used his fame to work the Paris Fashion Week runway.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback has seemingly seen it all.

He’s never seen this.

Never in his life has Burrow been forced to play out the final month of a season with postseason games all but off the table.

As cameras focus on his frustrations and reactions nearly every week, the latest a sideline vent at coach Zac Taylor during a 37-27 win at Tennessee, he’s learning about his coping mechanisms on the fly.

“I always just try to display a championship mindset,” Burrow said. “When things are good and good enough, to do what we want to do, then I try to verbalize that. When things aren’t up to standard, in my opinion, I try to verbalize that as well. I probably could have done that in a better way on Sunday.”

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— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) December 18, 2024

Regarding the incident caught on the broadcast and consequently pored over by every amateur lip reader on the Internet, Burrow pointed out Taylor was urging him to be happy with the win in the moment despite his frustrations with the mistakes over the course of the game.

Burrow admitting he could have handled his emotions better wasn’t an apology. This situation was no different than practicing a play for a guy who calculates all aspects of football like a touchdown-scoring cyborg.

“Just like with anything, you get new reps at things,” Burrow said. “You grow and you learn from them.”

The face of the franchise understands the looks on his face can sway the mood of the entire team. He’s used it to demoralize defensive linemen for years. Take every hit they give but pop right back up unfazed. His expressions and attitude constantly send a message of fearlessness and toughness.

But in this situation, what everyone is learning, is to not expect Burrow to quietly allow the season to go sideways without people clearly understanding his mood.

“I just hold myself and I hold our team to a high standard,” he said. “I expect greatness out of us. When it’s not that from myself, when it’s not that from everybody, I get frustrated.”

Burrow said he watched Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees growing up and would note how they acted on the sidelines and handled themselves as leaders. His dad, former player and coach Jimmy Burrow, would watch press conferences with him. The way those players acted left an impression. He’s learning more these days about how those impressions are shaping his leadership through a lost season.

“(They) never threw anybody under the bus,” Burrow said. “Always have the demeanor that you want to see from a quarterback, and … those guys get heated on the sideline, too. That’s part of the game.”

His attitude — frustrated or otherwise — is welcomed by those in the building. Specifically by the man who hears them more than anyone.

“He’s got an edge to him that is what makes him who he is,” Taylor said. “And, I don’t want to change that for one second because who he is and what makes him tick is what makes Joe Burrow different from everybody else on this planet. So, we’re together a lot. More than any member of my family. So, again, I love working with him every single day. I love the edges about him. It’s not always perfect between us when we’re out there, dealing with moments, but that’s just part of the competitive fire that he’s got that I love and wouldn’t change a thing about him.”

Perhaps nobody has sat next to Burrow during football games more than Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. Pitcher plopped down on the bench next to Burrow for each of the first four seasons of his career while serving as quarterbacks coach. He admitted he’s gotten into it with Burrow on the sideline “a couple of times.”

“It’s just intense competitors, Joe probably being the most intense competitor I’ve ever been around,” Pitcher said. “And it happens, man.”

These moments are viewed as a feature, not a glitch.

“It’s an emotional game,” Burrow said. “We’re leaving all we have out there and sometimes things get a little heated. Nobody’s immune to it. Nobody gets sensitive or has hard feelings about it. It’s just part of it.”

An inordinate amount of discourse has been spent this year discussing Burrow’s facial expressions and reactions.

What was once about the way Burrow was holding a water bottle in Week 1 morphed into a bi-weekly analysis of his reactions to various disappointments.

The first major moment came following a win against Las Vegas on Nov. 4. Despite a victory, Burrow scowled on the bench as the 41-27 win came to a close and afterward offered a frustrated, unsatisfied message to his teammates in the locker room. The venting continued in his postgame news conference.

“I’m not just going to ignore the bad and dwell on the great that we did today,” Burrow said. “I don’t think that’s a recipe for improvement … I’m going to strive for perfection — every day and every game. So, until that happens, what’s there to be happy about?”

Taylor views his role partially to balance out Burrow when he’s raging. Positivity, honesty and a calm demeanor are at the core of his leadership style, one he picked up from his father who was a football coach in Oklahoma.

The message hit home as part of the learning process for Burrow in terms of the when, where and why in managing his frustration with the understanding of the impact it has on everyone else in the building.

“I appreciate that about him because I can get lost — just like everybody can — you get lost in the adversity of the season and you can’t take winning for granted,” Burrow said. “I’ve tried to get better at that, and Zac tries to help me getting better at that. And I appreciate that about him. It’s tough for me sometimes. I want to be great. I want us to be great. On offense I want us to be perfect, and if we’re not, that gets frustrating for me. I do need to be better at just if we win, be happy about it. It’s hard to win in this league. And I can do a better job of maybe showing that side of me on a Monday and enjoying the win right after rather than letting that boil over on the sideline.”

Burrow made clear his message wasn’t lost, though. He’s unhappy with the rash of penalties over the last three games and the inability to maintain focus until triple zeroes. Those conversations have been had, he assured on Wednesday.

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— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) December 18, 2024

Inevitably, this entire conversation leads to the same place of everyone’s desire for accountability.

Taylor has made clear since his introductory news conference as head coach of the Bengals that a team that polices itself and its best players being the hardest workers setting the tone is exactly the type of culture he desires.

That begins with Burrow. The quarterback has found his voice — often raised — more than any season in his career. And these moments aren’t viewed in a negative light. Merely a learning one.

“When you’ve got a great player who winning and doing it the right way is the most important thing to him, that’s the best thing you can have from a leader on your football team, that doesn’t accept anything that’s below standard at any moment from anybody,” Taylor said. “There’s teams around the league begging for someone to have that standard, and we’ve got it, so you’ve got to embrace that and keep letting him lead the way for us.”

(Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)