Lost amid the Cincinnati Bengals' struggles in 2024 is Joe Burrow's stellar season.
Burrow is playing at a near-MVP level this year, ranking third in passing yards and tied for first in passing touchdowns with a TD-INT ratio of 27-4. Without Burrow, these Bengals would be completely lost, and even at 4-7, folks still aren't counting them out because of the threat of Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and the rest of this Bengals offense.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin agrees after studying Burrow ahead of their Week 13 meeting.
"If you look at the tape, he's MVP-caliber in terms of what he's doing for them," Tomlin said. "I started first with the two Baltimore games because of the intimacy of divisional play. Man, I don't know how many touchdowns he threw in those two football games. I know Chase himself had five. It's just kind of reflective of what he and they are capable of."
Tomlin is right: The Bengals have a high-powered offense that can drop 30-plus points on any given week. They're 4-7 because they haven't played complementary football, suffering some truly heartbreaking losses along the way that have left Burrow despondent even after throwing five touchdowns in a runaway victory over the Raiders.
He knows these Bengals aren't living up to their potential and feels their window of opportunity closing on them in 2024. They're running out of time and need to hit their stride immediately if they're going to dig out of this hole.
Their potential to do so is exactly why Tomlin isn't taking them lightly, especially after his Steelers walked away on the wrong end of a snowy Week 12 spectacle in Cleveland.
"It's a 60-minute game. I think that's reflected in watching them play," Tomlin said of the Bengals. "I think oftentimes you see teams are capable of slowing him or slowing them down at the early portions of the game, but in the fourth quarter, he and they are coming on like gangbusters. I've been around long enough to have an appreciation for that. I know how and why that happens. You better carry enough defense. They get comfortable as the game goes on with what it is that you're doing, what it is they need to do to be successful."
Although wins are not a quarterback stat -- no, we will not accept arguments against this point -- Burrow would likely be in the MVP race if the Bengals' record was reversed. Instead, he's been left with one option: Keep slinging the football and hope it produces wins.
Such a quest continues Sunday when the Bengals host the Steelers at 1 p.m. ET.
