The Cincinnati Bengals most recent loss to the Buffalo Bills effectively closed any chances they have of making the playoffs this season. In a hard fought 39-34 loss, Joe Burrow came out in the snow and played with a chip on his shoulder, though he faltered late with two back-breaking interceptions in the fourth quarter.
Now, Burrow is looking for other ways to keep himself motivated as the season dwindles down with nothing left to play for except pride.
“Certainly doesn’t change my desire to win,” Burrow said. “If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it. I’ve been through a lot, and if it’s not fun, what am I doing it for? That’s the mindset I’m trying to bring to the table.”
Burrow suffered a turf toe injury back in week two that forced him to get surgery, keeping him out until Nov. 27 when he returned against Baltimore on Thanksgiving.
Now that playoffs are out of the picture unless something drastic happens to the Ravens and Steelers, Burrow has shifted his mindset to keep him engaged for the final four weeks of the season.
Is There Any Chance The Bengals Can Sneak Into Playoffs?
In any other NFL season, a team sitting at 4-9 with four games left to play would more than likely be mathematically eliminated. That’s not the case for Cincinnati as we head into week 15, though the chances are incredibly slim.
According to The Athletic’s NFL playoff simulator, the Bengals have a three percent chance of making the postseason as of Dec. 11. Their only hope resides in both the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers completely bottoming out so that they could overtake the AFC North.
Of course, the Bengals must win each of their final four games to get to 8-9 for any of the following to happen. IF they win out, they’d need Pittsburgh to lose at least three of their final four games, and Baltimore to lose two of their final four games, most importantly this weekend against Cincinnati.
If all of those things happen, the Bengals would hold the tiebreaker over Baltimore (head-to-head) and Pittsburgh (the teams split their games this season, so the next tiebreaker is divisional record). Cincinnati, if it wins out, would have a 5-1 record in the AFC North, so they’d need Pittsburgh to finish with a loss against either the Browns or Ravens.
It’s a pretty far fetched scenario, but if you’re a Bengals fan who still wants to hold out hope for this season, start praying for the Ravens and Steelers to take a free fall.
Burrow Looks Great Coming Off of Injury
Though they’ve split the last two games with Burrow back, he looks like he hasn’t missed a beat despite missing three months of football. Outside of the two INT’s against Buffalo, Burrow has been nothing short of outstanding since returning.
In the two games, Burrow has thrown for 545 yards and six touchdowns. The toe surgery must have worked wonders, because he once again looks like the MVP-caliber quarterback he’s been for much of his career.
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