Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow played his best game of the season, and it was wasted as his team lost 30-27 on the road to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Bengals were unable to overcome their self-inflicted mistakes in Week 3. Cincinnati committed six penalties in the loss to the Steelers. In three games, the Bengals have 25 penalties.
“We’ve got to be better,” Burrow said. “We just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot like that. You can’t win in this league when you do that. It’s really hard. We could have overcome it, but it’s really hard to win like that.”
Other than his fumble with less than a minute to go that ended Cincinnati’s attempt to tie or win, Burrow put together a masterful game.
Coming out of the Bengals’ Week 2 win over the Houston
Texans, Burrow said he played “incredibly average.”
One week later, Burrow played much better. He completed 28 of his 37 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. His quarterback rating was 123.9, his highest this season.
The Bengals didn’t play their best game on defense or special teams, but a bright spot was the play on offense. The Bengals had 352 total net yards of offense against the Steelers – the most they’ve had all season.
“I thought we were pretty dang good,” Burrow said. “We had a couple penalties that set us back that we just can’t have happen. Couple things procedurally that we’ve got to clean up that put us behind the eight-ball a little bit. Overall, I thought we we’re pretty good.”
Without Burrow playing at the level he did in Pittsburgh, the Bengals wouldn’t have had a chance down the stretch. The Bengals continuously shot themselves in the foot with mistakes, yet Burrow kept responding.
The Bengals’ protection of Burrow was strong after a rough outing in Houston. Burrow was protected well for most of the game and only sacked once.
Burrow said the penalties have been a “theme for a while” and wants everyone in the locker room to take ownership of their roles. For the Bengals to move forward and string together two wins before the bye week, Burrow said, his team has no choice but to get better from this loss.
The next two games are at home Oct. 4 against Jacksonville and at Miami on Oct. 11.
“I think we have a chance to be great,” Burrow said. “We’ve got to show it every day. Today we didn’t.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'Not good enough.' Joe Burrow reflects on Bengals loss to Steelers
