There’s no ring. There’s no recent playoff run. There’s no dominant defense. But there is Joe Burrow — still putting up elite numbers, still getting paid like a franchise savior, still dragging the Cincinnati Bengals through their chaos.

Blame is heavy in the NFL. But sometimes, it lands on the wrong person.

Joe Burrow led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns but still missed the playoffs — for one reason only

"If you look at how we're playing, yeah, it's a tough pill to swallow."

Bengals pacing for the following team records:

Joe Burrow: 41 TD pace
Ja'Marr Chase: 1,678 yards and 17 TD (tied) pace
Trey Hendrickson: 19 sack pace

And, yet, pacing for a losing record. pic.twitter.com/zFgOGFwvGv

— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) November 8, 2024

The 2024 season should’ve been different. Joe Burrow threw 43 touchdowns. He passed for 4,918 yards — most in the NFL. He finished fifth on PFSN’s quarterback rankings with an 88.5 QB+ grade. He was accurate, efficient, and dangerous, completing 69.2% of his passes over the last two seasons.

None of it mattered.
“The 2024 Bengals allowed the most points per game in losses in NFL history (27.8), and had six losses with 25+ points last season,” as CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr put it. Even with Burrow putting up historic numbers, Cincinnati collapsed.
Burrow became just the third quarterback in league history to throw over 40 touchdowns and still miss the postseason. Not because he underperformed — but because his defense didn’t show up.
“He has to play excellent in order for the Bengals to win football games,” Kerr wrote. And he’s not wrong. If Burrow is anything less than elite, the Bengals lose. That’s the burden.
Cincinnati doesn’t have margin for error. Not with this defense. Not with this O-line.

Cincinnati Bengals locked in Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins — but forgot how football works

INSANE: THE #BENGALS HAVE LOST 4 GAMES THIS SEASON WHEN THEY SCORED 30+ POINTS… and 6 games of 25+ points.

• 25 POINTS… LOST
• 33 POINTS… LOST
• 38 POINTS… LOST
• 34 POINTS… LOST
• 27 POINTS… LOST
• 38 POINTS… LOST

PATHETIC. JOE BURROW NEEDS A REAL DEFENSE. pic.twitter.com/wSBZy2qMHY

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 1, 2024

This offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals doubled down. Ja’Marr Chase signed a record-breaking deal. Tee Higgins got a lucrative extension. Add in Joe Burrow’s five-year, $275 million contract, and suddenly the Bengals are pouring $125 million a year into three names.

They’re betting on the offense carrying everything. Again.

Problem? This isn’t 7-on-7.

You can have Burrow, Chase, and Higgins lighting up stat sheets, but if the defense can’t stop anyone, it’s over. Cincinnati finished dead last in the AFC North. Again. And it wasn’t because Burrow couldn’t find his targets — Chase just won the receiving triple crown with 127 receptions, 1,708 yards, and 17 touchdowns. Higgins added 911 yards and 10 TDs in just 12 games.
No one’s slacking on offense. The issue is that the rest of the roster hasn’t kept up.
“The Bengals need Burrow to perform at a high level every week to win games, and lose games when Burrow is just ‘good,'” Kerr wrote. That’s not sustainable. And that’s not on the quarterback.

Mike Florio says Joe Burrow only stayed in Cincinnati because he’s from Ohio — and forced the front office into action

Joe Burrow: “I went to school at Ohio State. I played football at LSU.”

Joe Burrow made his own statement on why OSU should or shouldn’t claim him as one of their own in the NFL. #Buckeyes #LSUTigers @fox19 pic.twitter.com/sedLyY0HnC

— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) November 8, 2023

NBC’s Mike Florio doesn’t think this was all fate and loyalty. He believes Burrow stayed in Cincinnati for one reason only: geography.

“If Joe Burrow was from Athens, Georgia and not Athens, Ohio, he would have refused to play for the Bengals,” Florio said on Pro Football Talk.

He wasn’t just speculating. Florio claimed Burrow was close to pulling a Carson Palmer — walking away. Until the Bengals caved.

“He pressured them and backed them into a corner [forcing them to re-sign Higgins and Chase]… That never would have happened five years ago,” Florio added.

Burrow, the so-called “hometown hero,” might’ve been bluffing with the poker face. But it worked.

They kept him. They paid him. They locked in his weapons. And now? They’ve left him to clean up a mess they created.