Joe Burrow has shown the Cincinnati Bengals that he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. But his recent comments suggest that he blames himself for the team’s failures last season. That’s why Chase Daniel felt the need to speak up for and defend the star quarterback.
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It’s no secret that the Bengals didn’t step up to Burrow’s level, which was the big problem last season. The team ranked at the bottom of the league for points allowed per game. Because of the inadequacies of the defense, Cincinnati finished with a 9-8 record and missed the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Burrow led the NFL in yards passing, passing completions and attempts, touchdown passes, and yards passing per game. He was doing all he could to keep the Bengals in games.
But still, Burrow came out and said this about his season last year. “If I had played even better, we wouldn’t have been in that spot,” Burrow told Yahoo after OTAs.
It’s great leadership and acceptance of responsibility as the leader of the team. But at the same time, we all know Burrow was far from a negative issue last season. In fact, he was one of the few positives.
In light of the quote, NFL analysts and shows have been asking if Burrow owes Cincinnati one more playoff run. One of those shows was The Facility, where former quarterback Chase Daniel went on a rant about how it should be the other way around.
“This is the least of their problems. How about everyone else raises their standards of play? There were 3 guys on the Bengals last year, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson, that stepped up. There’s 53 men on the roster last time I checked,” Daniel stated.
“So, in fact, they owe Joe some playoffs. They owe Joe to play better. Joe has played exceptionally, insanely good football from the time he walked into this league,” he asserted.
Daniel echoed what every football fan was thinking. How can one possibly sit and act like Burrow owes the Bengals anything? He’s rehabbed and returned from two different injuries and looked great coming out of it both times. Burrow has won Comeback Player of the Year twice because of it.
Furthermore, he’s received MVP votes at times. Burrow led the Bengals to the Super Bowl in 2021. And he currently owns the highest completion percentage in a career in NFL history. What more could he be asked to do?
“The least of the Bengals worries is Joe Burrow. You can’t play much better than he did last year…In fact, the Bengals owe Joe.”
— @ChaseDaniel pic.twitter.com/DdeyU0UJkN
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) June 2, 2025
Of course, the goal is to win a Super Bowl. But Burrow has done just about everything he can. Cincinnati has simply failed to construct a powerhouse around him. They’ve secured his offensive weapons, but they’ve missed on defensive signings and draft picks.
The blame is fully on the Bengals’ front office for the lack of success in recent seasons. The 28-year-old shouldn’t be blamed whatsoever. Burrow said what he did because he’s a leader, and he says the right things. But if you gave him truth serum, he might be saying the same things we’re writing right now.
