The Bengals came close but couldn’t complete a comeback last week against the 49ers. That meant the team went from 7-5 and in position to claim one of the AFC’s three Wild Card slots to 7-6 and the conference’s No. 9 seed.
Quarterback Joe Burrow is still dealing with a pinky injury on his throwing hand, but it won’t keep him from missing any game time. And it’s a good thing, too, because the club needs him down the stretch.
With games against the Broncos, Ravens, Chiefs, and Browns left on the schedule, the Bengals are still very much in postseason contention. But Burrow knows the club can’t afford many — if any — lapses.
“Going forward, every game is a must-win if we want to get to the playoffs,” Burrow said, via Geoff Hobson of the team’s website. “You know, we got to control what we can control and if we go out and win all the games that we’re capable of winning, we control our destiny.”
That task won’t be easy against the Broncos — a team Burrow said has “top to bottom” the best secondary the Bengals have faced all year.
“You look at the film and a lot of weeks you can point to this guy like, ‘Hey we can attack this guy,’” Burrow said. “They don’t have any of those guys on this defense. Top to bottom, they are probably the deepest we’ve played.”
In his second season, Burrow has thrown for 3,483 yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.