Joe Burrow says he gets better as the season goes, and the numbers say he's right.
They also say he'll put up much better numbers Sunday in Kansas City (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) than he did in last Sunday's opener against the Patriots.
In the four openers he's lost, he's thrown two touchdowns and five interceptions for a 65.2 passer rating. But in the three games that occurred the next week, he threw six touchdowns against one interception for an 88.95 rating.
"The more football you see throughout the season, the better you're going to get," Burow said after Wednesday's practice. "There starts to become trends here and there, and certain formations in certain looks about how deep the teams play you.
"It's just that I learn a lot from my mistakes, learn a lot week-to-week, game-to-game and usually I'm able to apply that pretty well. So I'm excited about where we're at, the practice we had today."
Burrow is pleased with how they looked Wednesday even though he had two receivers out. Wide receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring), who missed the opener, was out again for practice and on the rehab field. Tight end Tanner Hudson (knee) was also out.
JOE-PAT, PART V
Another reason to think Burrow's numbers are going rise Sunday is that he and two-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes have always staged classics in which Burrow has emerged 3-1 and as the only active quarterback to have three wins over Mahomes.
He hasn't thrown an interception and is averaging 10.5 yards per pass in two regular-season wins over the Chiefs at Paycor Stadium with a supersonic 138 passer rating fueled by six touchdown passes. Add the two AFC title games the Bengals split in Arrowhead, and Burrow has a 107 passer rating against the Chiefs while averaging 8.4 yards per pass.
This is the first of their meetings not in December or January, but Burrow has seen plenty of Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's defense that was so good in the playoffs last year and last week in the opening night win over the Ravens.
"They've evolved game-to-game playing us since we played them the first time," Burrow said. "They've evolved game to game trying to show different looks, changing their leverages, funneling our guys to help in different ways. They've really evolved their pressure packages, their bluff packages. Coach Spags is a really good coach. He always makes it really tough. He makes it challenging to figure out what he's doing and where you need to go with the football."
Burrow says he knows he'll have to tailor his game in an appointment against one of the great playmakers of all-time.
"I go into every game the same and I'm ready to adapt quickly to what we're seeing and what their offense is doing," Burrow said. "I try to gauge that pretty quickly in the game. Pat is one of one. He's really, really exceptional extending the play and throwing on the move, trying to buy that extra tick for his guys to get open. He really understands the game."
Even though they struggled to get the ball downfield against the Pats, Burrow is adamant he's not going to abandon his core approach of letting the defense dictate where he should throw the ball.
"I'm going to take what the defense gives me, and that's, in my opinion, part of why I've been so good," Burow said. "We can obviously do a much better job of taking advantage of those 1-on-1 opportunities, and there were a couple on Sunday that we didn't, so we need to do a much better job of recognizing that, myself included, but I'm going to continue to play the game the way I feel I need to play to win the game."
No matter how it plays out, he has huge respect for Mahomes and has enjoyed their brief moments together.
"We've obviously talked to each other after the games, see each other at certain places over the years. I like Patrick as a person," Burrow said. "I like talking to him and talking ball and talking about the game. I enjoy being around people who are really good at what they do, work really hard at what they do, and go about it the right way. And he's one of those guys."
NOT SO HAPPY FEET
Burrow acknowledged he had some "happy feet," in the pocket Sunday during a game he averaged 5.7 yards per pass. Before getting good protection much of the day, he did take some early hits but didn't point to that as a reason for not setting his feet. He seemed to indicate that was a casualty of getting the rust off after nearly a year of not playing games.
"There are definitely some plays on Sunday that my process was probably rushed a little bit. And that's part of what I'm trying to get better at this week," Burrow said. "I thought I had some happy feet in the pocket on Sunday, so slowing everything down, let my mind work and let my fundamentals take care of the rest."
BURROW FLICKS WRIST
Burrow's right wrist has become grist for people looking to explain last Sunday's performance. He had surgery on it back in November, but he insists he can go deep with it. With a flick of the wrist Wednesday, Burrow batted away concerns after cameras caught him flexing it frequently on the sidelines last Sunday.
"I'm doing that all the time. When you're coming back from an injury, you're always trying to keep the joint loose," Burrow said. "That's part of ligament injuries. If you don't move it, you're going to lose it, so I'm always moving it around, keeping it loose, keeping my mobility the way it's supposed to be, so it's going to continue to happen. I do it at home, I do it here, I do it all the time.
"It feels great. It feels better this week than it did last week, than it did the week before, so it's continually getting better."
TOUGH FEET
This Sunday, Bengals rookie punter Ryan Rehkow plays the team that cut him back in June as he comes off one of the more spectacular debuts in NFL history. He posted a league record average of 64.5 yards per punt in a game and the Bengals' record for longest punt with 80 yards. Tough room, because head coach Zac Taylor said he's still in a competition with the injured Brad Robbins.
"There's nothing set in stone yet. I'm proud of the way he handled it. He did a great job flipping the field. One game doesn't make a career," Taylor said. "So he's got to continue to earn it and prove that consistency.
"I think Brad was having a really good camp before he got injured. I have no problem patting Ryan on the back and saying 'Good job.' That was good to see and exciting for him in his first NFL game. But at the same time, there's a consistency there that you've got to prove in this league, and you've got to do it time and time again."
Which is just fine with Rehkow.
"I think that's the thing that's helped me a lot. One great game doesn't decide anything," Rehkow said. "You have to keep going out there every time proving you can do it."
Rehkow returns to Kansas City with no bitterness. He says Matt Araiza, the punter the Chiefs kept, had a better spring camp than he did using his veteran experience to his advantage before he also made his NFL debut last week.
"If I start thinking about things outside of the game, my focus isn't where it needs to be," Rehkow said. "Matt's a good punter and he gave me a few rides back to the hotel and we played golf a couple of times. I think it ended up we're both in good situations."
Araiza is known as "Punt God," after his career at San Diego State, but it was Rehkow who had the heavenly opener. He's not looking for a nickname, though.
"Ryan Rehkow is just fine," he says. "My parents got it right."
TACKLING HEAD-ON
Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said the Bengals missed 14 tackles last Sunday, the most in his six seasons.
"Unfortunately, a bunch of things we talked about all last year bit us again. The missed tackles, yards after contact, the 100-yard radius again," Anarumo said. "Guys were in the right spots, just have to make the plays. We'll continue to work it. It's something that we've been preaching since the spring. We've got to do a better job. I've got to do a better job coaching it."
But the other thing he wanted to get fixed from last year, the communication, came through loud and clear, he said. The Patriots didn't have a play longer than 17 yards.
"I was proud of the lack of explosives," Anarumo said. "We gave up one touchdown, but in that type of game we've got to give up no touchdowns."
New starting safety Geno Stone had three of the missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, but he and Anarumo don't think it's going to be an issue.
"I didn't get much (action) in preseason, but I think I'm getting back on track," said Stone, who played three preseason snaps in games. "You have to work on it in practice. Take good angles and make sure you find the ball, and (in practice) make sure you at least tag with two hands and make sure you're in position to make the tackle and do it in a game. That's the thing. When you've got it in a small area, you have to make the tackle. I think we've been doing a good job with that, we just have to go out and do it."
Stone, who led the AFC in interceptions last year while with the Ravens, nearly began defense of his title with an end-zone pick until it was knocked out at the last instant while he battled for it on the ground.
"I'm still mad about that," Stone said. "That's why they brought me here. Eliminate plays like that and make turnovers … I should have put my hand the other way. I'll get it next time."
Anarumo thinks there are picks in his future, especially after seeing the next snap after the near interception.
"You'll see him physically upset during a play. It's a red-zone play," Anarumo said. "Jacoby (Brissett) goes to throw it on a slant and he's going to intercept it and he's like, 'Why didn't you throw it?' During the play. So he had a couple of opportunities in his mind. He could have tracked the ball a little better on one of the tackles that he missed. But I thought his communication was great. He was in the right spot. He helped out the younger corners. I thought he did well."
So Stone has plenty of motivation in this one. The Ravens lost last year's AFC title game at home to the Chiefs.
"I still think about it," Stone said. "I've never been that close in my career (to the Super Bowl). To lose at home, it sucked. I'm not taking it as a revenge game. I just take it as another game, but I feel like I owe them a little bit."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Burrow said he's hasn't been reading the criticism that has been unleashed since Sunday. But he can get a sense of it with Wednesday's questions.
"It's a luxury right now to be criticized by all you guys about how we played on Sunday," Burow said. "Because I was sitting in the wings for seven weeks last year. So I'm just excited to be out there." …
Linebacker Logan Wilson (knee) didn't practice Wednesday …
Neither did right tackle Amarius Mims (pectoral) …
Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr., who had surgery on his thumb Friday, didn't practice Wednesday, but indications are if he's not back for Sunday it's going to be soon …
Defensive tackle B.J. Hill (knee) was limited …
