The Bengals ended a 31-year postseason victory drought by defeating the Raiders on Saturday.
While that’s nothing to outright dismiss, quarterback Joe Burrow didn’t make a big deal out of it at the time. As he explained on Tuesday, that’s because he feels like the bar has been raised for Cincinnati’s expectations.
“I think the fans were very excited, but I tried to downplay it and all that because this is how it’s going to be from here on out,” Burrow said in his press conference. “It was a great win for us, but this is the standard — the bare minimum every year going forward.”
Burrow finished the game 24-of-34 passing for 244 yards with a pair of touchdowns and no turnovers. He hasn’t committed a giveaway since Cincinnati’s Week 13 loss to the Chargers.
Burrow noted his mentality wasn’t much different for last week’s game since the Bengals needed to keep winning in December to make the postseason.
“I think I’ve just played in a lot of big games throughout my career, whether it’s this year — I mean, every game in the last half of the season was a playoff game,” Burrow said. “Or those games playing in the College Football Playoffs and the championship, I think I’ve been in that situation before.”
Burrow will face another significant test against the Titans on Saturday. But based on his track record, the young quarterback should be ready for it.