Joe Burrow: 'I'm Not Going to Accept Losing' After Bengals' Super Bowl Run
May 17, 2022
The Cincinnati Bengals enter the 2022 campaign with high hopes after reaching Super Bowl LVI last season.
But after falling to the Los Angeles Rams on the biggest stage, Joe Burrow has set the bar higher, and he is aiming for nothing less than a championship this season.
"I’m not going to accept losing," Burrow told reporters on Tuesday.
The 2021 season was the Bengals' best since the 1988 campaign in which they reached the Super Bowl but fell to the San Francisco 49ers.
Burrow led Cincinnati to a 10-7 record, which was good for first in the AFC North. The team hadn't finished first in its division since the 2015 season. The Bengals then went on to top the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason to reach the Super Bowl.
Cincinnati lost the Super Bowl by just three points, a 23-20 loss to Matthew Stafford and the Rams. During that game, it was clear Burrow needed more protection after being sacked seven times, bringing the total times he was sacked in the playoffs to 19, an NFL postseason record.
The Bengals' offensive line was really their only weakness last season, and they completely revamped the O-line this offseason in hopes it will pay off with a Super Bowl title.
Cincinnati signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers right guard Alex Cappa, which gives the franchise a stable option at the position for the first time in years. They also signed former New England Patriots offensive lineman Ted Karras, who can play either center or left guard, and former Dallas Cowboys right tackle La'el Collins.
With those additions on the offensive line, and the returns of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon alongside Burrow, the Bengals could be in line to finish with their most wins since 2015 when they went 12-4.
That said, they'll face a much more difficult AFC in 2022 with the Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns all checking in with better odds to win the conference at this point, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
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