Joe Burrow keeps making the Bengals look easy, and Zac Taylor is hardly trying to hide how much he trusts his quarterback right now.
After Cincinnati’s 34-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9, Taylor made it clear just how far Burrow’s play has carried this offense.
“Joe is playing at an unbelievably high level right now. It’s difficult to not put the ball in his hand every play given the way people are playing around him as well,” Taylor said via Paul Dener Jr. of The Athletic wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
That kind of praise fits what Burrow did against Atlanta. He was sharp from start to finish, completing 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns. The Falcons had a hard time getting Cincinnati off the field because Burrow kept finding ways to extend drives and keep the offense rolling.
The bigger picture has been just as strong. Burrow has thrown 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions this season, and he’s putting together one of the league’s best runs. If he keeps this pace, he belongs squarely in the MVP conversation.
Cincinnati’s supporting cast is doing its part, too. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins give Burrow two dangerous targets on the outside, while Chase Brown has helped the ground game with easy yards. Together, they’ve helped the Bengals look like the version of themselves that reached the Super Bowl.
But the engine is still Burrow. His hot start has kept Cincinnati alive, and right now Taylor sounds like a coach who’d be perfectly happy letting his quarterback touch the ball on every snap.
In Other News...
Shemar Stewart Suddenly Has A Bigger Bengals Opportunity In Madrid
As the Bengals get ready for their trip to Madrid to face the Falcons, Shemar Stewart is suddenly in line for a larger role than the one he has had so far. The rookie defensive lineman has been working through limited playing time, but the path to more snaps has opened up as Cincinnati deals with injuries up front and tries to keep its rotation intact for an overseas game that carries plenty of attention.
Zac Taylor pointed to the absences around Stewart as a reason his workload should grow, and the timing matters for a player who missed much of training camp before settling into the season. Even with that slow start, Stewart has kept a positive approach, and the Bengals now need him to turn that into production when the opportunities start coming more regularly. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Burrows Game Day Choice Could Start A New Bengals Debate
Joe Burrows game-day wardrobe drew a little extra attention during the Bengals Week 9 meeting with the Falcons, when he stepped out in custom orange-and-black Caddix cleats. The brand has been making noise around the league lately, helped along by interest from players and even endorsements from figures like Tom Brady, and Burrows choice fit neatly into the kind of style-conscious image he has built in Cincinnati.
The wrinkle is that Caddix is not an NFL-approved brand, which is where the conversation gets interesting for a player with Burrows visibility. Other players have already run into trouble for wearing the same cleats, and with Joe Flacco also connected to the brand, Burrows choice could easily spark a fresh Bengals-side debate about where fashion ends and league rules begin. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Get A Huge AFC North Test After Steelers Bye Week
Pittsburgh heads into its bye week with plenty of momentum after rolling past Cleveland, a result that kept the Steelers atop the AFC North and underscored how well they are playing on both sides of the ball. Jaylen Warren gave the offense a burst on the ground, while the defense kept the Browns under pressure all afternoon with a pass rush that consistently disrupted the pocket and helped create extra possessions.
For Cincinnati, the timing only raises the stakes for what comes next. The Bengals will get the division leader in prime time at Paycor Stadium on Nov. 15, with NBC carrying the matchup and streaming available on Fubo, and it arrives as one of the clearest measuring-stick games left on the schedule. If the Bengals want to make up ground in the AFC North, this is the kind of test that can shape the rest of the race. [Read more 🡒]