It’s been a while since we saw Joey B crack a smile in an interview, but here we are. The Cincinnati Bengals stopped their two-game losing skid and came up big against a solid AFC team in the Las Vegas Raiders.
Cincinnati defeated Las Vegas 32-13 and Joe Burrow went 20-of-29 for 148 yards and one touchdown.
The best part is: Burrow didn’t record a single interception, so his numbers are trending in the right direction when it comes to taking care of the ball.
After wins from the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns on Sunday, this was a huge win for the Bengals and Burrow knew it.
"I think what this says about our team is we can win a lot of different ways... It's a big time win."
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 22, 2021
Joe Burrow joins @EvanWashburn after the @Bengals W over the Raiders. pic.twitter.com/LjDXK0SJCr
Burrow name-dropped a handful of playmakers who buoyed Cincinnati to a win on Sunday: Joe Mixon, Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd.
Remember all that talk of Boyd not getting enough targets? He led the team with six receptions on eight targets for 49 yards including a long of 14.
While it was fellow teammate Chase who got in the end zone, Boyd’s production definitely shut some haters up.
Joe Burrow says Tyler Boyd is his "security blanket" when they play a zone defense
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) November 22, 2021
Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow enjoyed romp over Raiders in Week 11
And the Bengals’ team performance sent a message to the critics, too.
A large part of the win came from Burrow playing calm and controlled offense and taking advantage of any chances the Raiders gave him.
Joe Burrow: “That was fun. It was a hard fought game… We knew with the kind of defense they were, we had to stay patient."
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) November 22, 2021
Bengals QB Joe Burrow: "I thought I played well." Said he wanted to stay on schedule and not get into third-and-longs so the DEs can pin their ears back.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) November 22, 2021
Burrow was sacked three times, but he brought on the heat in the fourth quarter, when Cincinnati scored 19 of their 32 points.
It’s nice to see this Bengals team running like a well-oiled machine again on both offense and defense, and Burrow has all the reason to be elated after Week 11’s win.
Burrow and the Bengals now look ahead to tough matchups against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers in the coming weeks.
Burrow said it himself: the Bengals got the job done this game, but they need to do the same for the rest of the season.