Cincinnati’s Struggles Continue with Devastating Loss to Washington
Quarterback Joe Burrow’s impressive performance, including a dime to Ja’Marr Chase for his second touchdown of the night, wasn’t enough to secure a win for the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite Burrow’s efforts, the team suffered a crushing 38-33 loss to the Washington Commanders, marking their third straight defeat to open the season.
Burrow acknowledged that the team has a “long way to go” and that their focus is not on a postseason run at this point. “We’re by no means out of it, but playoffs and winning division is the furthest thing from my mind,” he said. This sentiment echoes his comments after a Week 2 loss to Kansas City.
The loss to Washington was particularly disheartening, given the Commanders’ struggles last season. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels led the team to victory, throwing two touchdowns and only two incompletions. Washington scored touchdowns on five of its six true drives, including a 27-yard pass to Terry McLaurin with 2:10 left that sealed the win.
After the game, Burrow and coach Zac Taylor had a private conversation, which Burrow described as “very positive.” While he didn’t reveal specifics, he emphasized that the season is far from over. “We’re 0-3, it’s 14 left to play,” he said.
The Bengals’ struggles are compounded by the fact that two of their losses came against teams that won only four games last year. Coach Taylor attributed the team’s woes to their inability to create opportunities and dictate the tempo of the game. “There hasn’t been one unit that’s really dominated to take the pressure off the other unit, so this falls on everybody,” he said.
Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt’s pre-game comments about Washington’s offense being “nice, college offense” drew attention, but he stood by his words even after the loss. “I do not regret it,” he said. “I didn’t mean anything malicious out of the comment. It was made bigger than what it was.”
The Bengals will look to bounce back next week against the Carolina Panthers, led by quarterback Andy Dalton, a former Bengal. Burrow acknowledged that he may need to reassess his leadership approach to help the team find its footing. “That’ll be some critical thinking that I’ll have to do,” he said. “See what kind of leader I want to be going forward, what I feel like the team needs from me going forward.”
Leave a Reply