Joe Burrow finally said the quiet part out loud about Bengals' recent failures

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is pulling out all the stops. Becoming a more vocal leader. Doing everything humanly possible to optimize his nutrition and fitness. Evolving and improving as a player on a daily basis.

Burrow is a biological force of nature on the gridiron. He's so over getting hurt. He's so over falling on the sword. He's over missing the playoffs three years in a row. And he's so over pretending everything is OK in Cincinnati when something has been profoundly wrong for his whole career.

What's the fundamental flaw? The organization has failed to match his desire to win a Super Bowl, and there are signs the stench stemming from that odorous flaw still lingers.

But make no mistake: The Bengals have totally changed their ways as a franchise. For one year at least. And it's all thanks to Burrow. Now that he's confident in the defense, Joe Shiesty is not holding back whatsoever in unloading some of the criticism that must've eaten at him behind closed doors.

Burrow isn't shying away from Super Bowl expectations...or keeping it real about his own team

SI.com's Albert Breer dropped a downright epic Joe Burrow interview on Monday just as the Bengals' 53-man roster is shaping up.

A good chunk of the conversation revolved around his prior comments when he compared the 2019 LSU national championship team to the Bengals' 2026 roster. More of it had to do with trying to manifest a Lombardi Trophy by any means possible., it's worth appreciating Burrow's candor about the defense's recent struggles:

“The last couple of years, it felt like every possession was do or die—you’ve got to go make a play on third down. Otherwise you’re going to fall behind. It doesn’t really feel that way this year. I think we can commit to the run; we can commit to play-action. As I said, we’ll drop back and throw it 60 times if we have to, but I don’t think that’s a recipe for success week in and week out."

The catharsis Burrow must have felt speaking these words on the record.

• Translation: "Our defense sucked the last couple of years. And I can finally say it."

Not only did Burrow feel pressed to score every time he touched the ball; he put himself in harm's way to do so by dropping back to pass so often.

For as much criticism as the offensive line has taken over the years, they were in a tough spot having to execute so many true pass sets. That said, the unit was never anywhere close to good enough around Burrow.

Even when Joe Brrr led the NFL in passing yards and passing TDs in 2024 while trying to carry a sorry defense to the playoffs, he was getting blasted despite getting rid of the ball at warp speed.

Good thing the Bengals finally decided to buck up and do something about all this. Their offensive line returns all five starters. But more importantly, they did, at long last, upgrade the defense this offseason in a massive, refreshing overhaul.

Joe's optimism about the 2026 Bengals stems from added defensive leadership

Later in the Breer interview, Joe Burrow praised newcomers to the defense in Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, and Boye Mafe (along with Bryan Cook). Joe Shiesty emphasized how important it is for the defense to have their own leaders, and that the fresh faces in the locker room who are accomplished vets have stepped up to the plate:

"All the veteran guys understand the opportunity that we have and understand the things to say, the energy to provide the younger guys. And we could do it on offense to a degree the last couple of years, but offense and defense, you’re so separate day to day. You don’t see each other that much. And so having Dexter, having Jonathan, having Boye come in after winning the Super Bowl, those guys all know how to do it, when to do it, who to do it with."

You love to hear this. Zac Taylor even said at the presser podium at some point last season that he was looking around for somebody to take on a leadership role on defense. It just never materialized.

That'll happen when you neglect the roster as much as the Bengals did last offseason and in years past. That's why I was so desperate to keep Trey Hendrickson and just pay him whatever he wanted. There was no indication that the front office would go above and beyond to meaningfully improve the defense from outside the building.

Everything flipped on its head this offseason. It's why Burrow is so bullish on this team.

Now it's almost time to let the games begin for real. Can't wait. Neither can Joe.

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