Bengals’ Joe Burrow isn’t thinking about playoffs at all after horror 0-3 start to the season

After falling to 0-3, Joe Burrow insists the Bengals aren't done despite a tough playoff path ahead.

Bengals’ Joe Burrow isn’t thinking about playoffs at all after horror 0-3 start to the season

Joe Burrow (Image via IMAGO)

In the battle of the former LSU quarterbacks, Joe Burrow came out short. Yet it would be unfair to put the blame solely on him.

The Cincinnati Bengals welcomed the second overall pick of the 2024 draft, Jayden Daniels, and the Washington Commanders to the jungle. A highly anticipated prime-time showdown fueled by a common goal—securing a win.

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Burrow was under the most pressure because the Bengals lost their opening two games. He delivered by completing 324 passing yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions. 

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Those numbers are enough to win a Super Bowl, let alone a Week 3 game, but unfortunately for Burrow, his counterpart Daniels had a career game. The 23-year-old completed 91% of his passes (overtaking his Commanders predecessor, Robert Griffin III) and set up 5 touchdowns as the game ended 38-33.

After the game, Joe Burrow and head coach Zac Taylor did something unusual. Instead of heading for the locker room to prepare for the post-game interview, both walked toward the coach’s meeting room. He later revealed that the pair wanted to have some discussion in private.

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Near impossible task for Joe Burrow to take the Bengals to playoffs now

After losing to the Commanders, Burrow and the Bengals now sit at 0-3, and to some, that’s a deal breaker in terms of playoff talks. Rarely does any team that starts with three losses make it into the postseason.

Bengals' Joe Burrow isn't thinking about playoffs at all after horror 0-3 start to the season
Joe Burrow and the Bengals (Image via IMAGO)

Yet, Burrow isn’t someone who would give up so easily. When he was asked if the playoff chances were slowly slipping away, the Pro Bowler with a poker face replied to not count them out just yet.

We're by no means out of it, but playoffs or winning the division is the furthest thing from my mind. We just gotta get better this week.
Joe Burrow said

Optimism is great, but if one searches through the pits of endless NFL stats, one would discover a very dire number. 

Since 1990 and the expanded playoff field, 162 teams have started a season 0-3. Just four of them have actually made the playoffs.
According to Yahoo Sports

Those four teams are:

That’s only a 2.4% success rate, and even among them, they only shared a solitary playoff win.

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Even amidst the darkness, there’s a silver lining. This Bengals team is perhaps the best 0-3 around with an offense that can challenge any other team. Taylor needs to sort out the defense that let in 38 points from a rookie quarterback.