After the Bengals iced a victory over the Titans on Chase Brown’s touchdown with 1:09 remaining, quarterback Joe Burrow was caught in a heated conversation with coach Zac Taylor. The broadcast caught the exchange, with Burrow appearing to say “fucking embarrassing” at one point.
Burrow was obviously irked and not for the first time during a win this season.
On Wednesday, both Taylor and Burrow addressed the exchange.
“He was just trying to tell me to be happy with the win,” Burrow said, via Jay Morrison of SI.com. “And I appreciate that about him because I can get lost – just like everybody can – you get lost in the adversity of the season and you can’t take winning for granted. I’ve tried to get better at that, and Zac tries to help me get better at that. And I appreciate that about him.
“It’s tough for me sometimes. I want to be great. I want us to be great. On offense I want us to be perfect, and if we’re not, that gets frustrating for me. I do need to be better at, just if we win, be happy about it. It’s hard to win in this league. And I can do a better job of maybe showing that side of me on a Monday and enjoying the win right after rather than letting that boil over on the sideline.”
Burrow would be an MVP candidate if the front office had addressed the deficiencies on defense in the offseason. He leads the NFL in attempts (527), completions (361), yards (3,977), touchdowns (36) and has a 107.1 passer rating.
He hasn’t been merely good; he’s been great.
The Bengals, though, are only 6-8, with a defense that is 31st in points allowed.
Taylor understands his quarterback’s passion is coming from the right place and for the right reasons. It’s what makes Burrow . . . Burrow.
“He’s got a competitive edge to him that I balance as a head coach, because I’m always trying to lead the entirety of the team and balance things, but he’s got an edge to him that is what makes him who he is,” Taylor said of Burrow, via Pat Brennan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “And, I don’t want to change that for one second because who he is and what makes him tick is what makes Joe Burrow different from everybody else on this planet. So, we’re together a lot. More than any member of my family. So, again, I love working with him every single day. I love the edges about him. It’s not always perfect between us when we’re out there, dealing with moments, but that’s just part of the competitive fire that he’s got that I love and wouldn’t change a thing about him, and anytime something flares up, we move on and move quickly past it.
“But, when you’ve got a great player who winning and doing it the right way is the most important thing to him, that’s the best thing you can have from a leader on your football team, that doesn’t accept anything that’s below standard at any moment from anybody. There’s teams around the league begging for someone to have that standard, and we’ve got it, so you’ve got to embrace that and keep letting him lead the way for us.”