Twitter Rips Joe Burrow's Offensive Line in Bengals' AFC Title Game Loss to Chiefs

The Cincinnati Bengals have one of the best young quarterbacks in football in Joe Burrow, but the team has now struggled to protect its face of the franchise when it matters most in each of the past two years.

Burrow was under duress from start to finish in Sunday's 23-20 AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He finished with 270 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions while adding a team-high 30 rushing yards, but he was also sacked five times in the loss.

It was just a year ago in Super Bowl LVI that Burrow was spun down by Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald late in the fourth quarter, forcing an incompletion to seal a loss for Cincinnati. A similar situation occurred in Sunday's conference championship game, as Chiefs star Chris Jones sacked Burrow to force a punt with 41 seconds left, allowing Patrick Mahomes to lead the Kansas City offense down the field for a game-winning field goal.

The Bengals offensive line faced the wrath of NFL Twitter for its struggles against the Chiefs, as the unit let Burrow down in the game's biggest moments:

Cincinnati has a talented offense led by Burrow and receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. However, none of that matters if Burrow doesn't have time to get them the ball.

Injuries to guard Alex Cappa (in Week 18) and tackle Jonah Williams (in Wild Card Weekend) exposed Cincinnati's lack of offensive line depth.

The Bengals would be wise to invest in some upgrades to their offensive line this offseason, both during the 2023 draft and through free agency.

While Burrow is on the roster, Cincinnati's championship window is open, but it needs to protect its franchise quarterback to achieve its ultimate goal.