Starting the season off with two losses is less than ideal and it puts the Cincinnati Bengals in a painfully familiar spot at the bottom of the division. This week vs. the Jets is a crucial game, a must-win scenario for Cincinnati.
Don't let the point spread fool you (after all, they were favored in their first two games this season), this isn't going to be an easy game, and the Jets are coming off an impressive and historic comeback against the division rival Browns, where they scored two touchdowns in the last two minutes of the game to win 31-30.
If the Bengals want to win and not fall even further behind in the AFC North, they're going to need these guys to step up and bounce back after a rough start to the season.
Joe Burrow
Yes, I understand Burrow's "bodyguards" have played extremely bad through these first two games, already having given up 13 sacks and are on pace to give up a record-breaking amount by the end of the season. However, some of those sacks are on Burrow himself, as instead of getting rid of the ball or throwing it out, he'd try to make a play that wasn't there, which usually resulted in lost yardage.
This isn't a new problem for the third-year quarterback either. While most of the sacks last year were the fault of the O-Line, Joey Franchise likely could've avoided a few of those if he just threw the ball away or tuck it down and tried to run.
I think we can all appreciate Burrow's determination to make a play, but he has to realize and accept that sometimes there is no play to be made. There's no shame in throwing it away, in fact, if he had done that in a couple of specific circumstances against Pittsburgh in Week 1, this squad would likely be 1-1 right now.
Though, at the same time, I do hope to see him sky it out more down the field for guys like Chase and Higgins this upcoming week, a sight that's felt rare in their first two games. For this week, however, he should just focus on not trying to force throws and throwing the ball away when the time calls for it.
If Burrow really wants us to believe that they're going to be fine after this lackluster start to the season, he needs to prove it with a solid performance and a win this Sunday.