The Bengals, after years of half measures, seem to have finally pushed all their chips to the middle of the table.
Now quarterback Joe Burrow feels the pressure, and he wants everyone in the building to feel it as well.
“I’ve tried to instill an urgency in the room—a palpable pressure—because we have guys playing and coaching for their jobs this year,” he said to ESPN’s Marty Smith. “That’s how, you know, I’m looking at it. I’m playing for my job this year.”
He went on to say he’s pushing for every
player to attack every rep at every practice to get as much out of practice as possible. Entering his seventh season in the league, he knows what it takes to win, and he believes the Bengals have what they need.
“We have the team to do it this year,” he said. “Now we have to take advantage of the opportunity.”
The Bengals sent their No. 10 overall selection to the Giants in exchange for All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II, signed Boye Mafe, Bryan Cook, Jonathan Allen and Kyle Dugger, completely reshaping the defense, and they kept the most loaded offense in the NFL together.
On paper, they should be one of the most dominant teams in the league. For now, though, it’s all potential energy. Hopefully, they can turn it into something kinetic once the games actually matter.
