Can Joe Burrow Embrace the “Pressure” of Leading the Bengals to a 14-3 Record?

Joe Burrow spoke, and the usually unflappable Joe Cool could barely sit still. Asked about the added pressure of what Cincinnati has, Burrow didn't shrink from it. He invited it.

"I hope so. I think that's great," Burrow said of the pressure. "Put pressure on guys. I love it. I thrive in it. We'll find out who else does." He wants everybody talking about the Bengals, talking about what he says in his press conferences, and he compared his feeling about this team to what he sensed before the 2019 season at LSU. He wished they could ramp straight into training camp, because in his words there's so much greatness this team can achieve.

The show had never seen him so antsy. The crew joked that Burrow was really aiming his message at the rest of the AFC quarterbacks, the Lamar Jacksons and Josh Allens and Justin Herberts and Trevor Lawrences, telling them to handle the pressure he doesn't feel. Either way, his energy was a clear departure from the cool customer they were used to.

The buzz teed up a caller, Jack in Columbus, who wanted to play the win-loss game for the Bengals and promptly walked them to 14-3. He had Cincinnati losing the opener to Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers before flipping the script, dropping only that game, a road trip to the Texans, and one of two against the Ravens. The highlights included sweeping the Steelers, beating the Browns now that they don't have to worry about Myles Garrett, and dominating the Chiefs the way Jack insisted they did in the regular season. An international date against the Falcons in Madrid was the rare blemish.

That made it the second 14-3 projection the show had received for Cincinnati, alongside a 13-4. The optimism fits the moment. Burrow welcomes the Buccaneers for week one and, by the sound of it, wants the season to start yesterday. The show happily promised to keep talking about his press conferences, exactly as he asked.