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Oct 9,2026 09:04 AM IST

Joe Burrow Clarifies What He Really Wants From Bengals’ Offence

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Sports Home US Sports NFL Joe Burrow Clarifies What He Really Wants From Bengals Offence

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Joe Burrow Clarifies What He Really Wants From Bengals’ Offence

Joe Burrow has made his preference clear after the Bengals struggled to run the ball against Jacksonville, saying Cincinnati should lean more on its passing game while continuing to find answers on the ground.

NDTV Sports Desk
Updated: October 08, 2026, 11:20 PM EDT

Read Time: 3 min

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Joe Burrow backs Bengals’ passing© Getty via AFP

Joe Burrow did not ask the Cincinnati Bengals to suddenly become a run-first team after their rushing attack stalled against Jacksonville. Cincinnati finished the game with just 23 rushing yards, yet Burrow's answer pointed in the opposite direction. He wants the Bengals to trust the part of the offence he believes gives them their best chance to win. “My response to that would be, ‘Let's throw it more,'” Burrow told reporters after the loss. The comment said plenty about his confidence in the passing game and his own ability to make it work.

Joe Burrow Wants Cincinnati to Lean Into Its Passing Game

Burrow's reaction went beyond frustration with a bad rushing night. He clearly believes the Bengals are at their best when the offence puts the ball in his hands. Against Jacksonville, he completed 39 of 54 attempts for 428 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Even while Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins dealt with injuries during the game, Burrow continued to look for ways to move the ball through the air.

“Because I know we're great at it. Because I know that's what I do best,” Burrow said when explaining why he would prefer to throw more.

That confidence is understandable given how Cincinnati has built its offence around him. Burrow has long looked comfortable from shotgun formations, giving him time to read the defence and get the ball out to his receivers. The Bengals have tried to add more under-centre plays this season, with the hope that it could help establish the run and give the offence another dimension.

The results, however, have been limited so far. Cincinnati has averaged only 3.3 yards per play from under centre with Burrow this season, according to data shared by Bengals analyst Joe Goodberry. That number highlights one of the problems Cincinnati has yet to solve.

Bengals Still Need More From the Running Game

Burrow backing the passing attack does not mean the Bengals can ignore what is happening on the ground. Cincinnati still needs better production from its running game, and the Jacksonville matchup made that difficult to overlook.

Chase Brown finished with only 10 rushing yards on nine carries, while the Bengals managed 23 yards on 15 attempts as a team. Jacksonville ran for 111 yards. With Cincinnati getting so little from its rushing attack, Burrow was forced to carry even more of the offensive workload and ended up throwing 54 passes.

That level of responsibility will draw attention, especially after the Bengals dropped their second straight game following a 2-0 start. Cincinnati needs to find a way to make its offence less predictable without taking away what Burrow believes it does best.

Head coach Zac Taylor has defended relying on Burrow when the running game is struggling. Still, the Bengals cannot expect their quarterback to solve every problem through the air. They need enough production on the ground to keep opposing defences honest.

For Burrow, though, the answer is not to move away from Cincinnati's biggest strength simply to create a more even run-pass split. His preference is clear: keep putting pressure on defences through the passing game while the Bengals work to make their running attack more reliable.

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Joe Burrow Clarifies What He Really Wants From Bengals’ Offence

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