The triumphant return of Joe Burrow was supposed to be the spark that ignited a late-season playoff surge for the Cincinnati Bengals. Instead, after a devastating 24-0 shutout loss to the Baltimore Ravens, those postseason dreams have officially crashed.
The brief flicker of hope following their shocking Thanksgiving upset of the Ravens quickly faded into darkness, replaced by a heartbreaking sequence: a 39-34 loss to the Bills, culminating in Sunday’s embarrassing blanking.
With this latest defeat, the Bengals are not only eliminated from contention but have now missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season, transforming their anticipated resurgence into a spectacular disappointment. Burrow had an extremely honest assessment of his performance as the Bengals offense was held scoreless.
This is what Burrow had to say after the Ravens put the nail in the coffin in another disappointing season for the Bengals.
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Joe Burrow stats today
Burrow lit up the Ravens only a few weeks ago, but this time in Cincinnati, he did not have the same success.
- Completions: 25
- Attempts: 39
- Completion Percentage: 64.1%
- Passing yards: 225
- Passing TDs: 0
- Interceptions: 2
- Rushing yards: 5
- Rushing TDs: 0
- Sacks: 3
Burrow threw two interceptions and a pick-six for the second-straight week.
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Joe Burrow postgame comments
Following the disheartening 24-0 shutout loss to the Baltimore Ravens that officially eliminated the Bengals from playoff contention, quarterback Joe Burrow was critical of himself, while also addressing concerns raised by his cryptic comments earlier in the week.
Burrow shouldered the entirety of the blame for the team's offensive struggles and defeat. Burrow called it one of the worst games of his career, saying "There’s no team in the NFL that would have won today if I was the quarterback.”
“I think this is the one of the worst games that I’ve played” - Joe Burrow pic.twitter.com/TgaRoOwAR5
— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) December 14, 2025
This was the quarterback's worst game of the season and the first in 2025 where Burrow did not throw a touchdown. Though the Bengals controlled the time of possession, it was 3-for-15 on third down and turned over the football twice.
Burrow clarified the comments he made earlier in the week about needing to "have fun" and questioning his future, ensuring reporters they were not a shot at the organization.
"My comments had nothing to do with Cincinnati," Burrow said. "My comments had everything to do with me and my mindset and football."
Burrow's long-time teammate, Ja'Marr Chase, commented on Burrow after the loss as well.
Joe Burrow said that his comments about happiness this week had nothing to do with Cincinnati.
— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) December 14, 2025
Ja'Marr Chase said that he might need to start uplifting Burrow because: "you never know what he might be going through."#Bengals @WCPO pic.twitter.com/ewh1PkTbVc
The franchise quarterback went on to say he has full confidence in the Bengals organization and that he needs to play better.
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