There was little anxiety in 2022 when the Cincinnati Bengals sputtered to an 0-2 start.
Similarly, there was little panic from the team this year when Cincy lost its first two games, as well.
However, this time around, the Bengals have continued to stagger, and at 1-3 face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in a suddenly crucial game.
Asked Wednesday if he and the Bengals locker room believed their upcoming game was a must-win, quarterback Joe Burrow replied, "Yes," before the question was done being asked.
Statistics back up Burrow's sentiment.
Since 1990, 161 NFL teams have gotten off to 1-4 starts and just 11 (6.8%) have advanced to the playoffs, according to NFL Research. Thus, for a Bengals squad brimming with high hopes entering the season, its clash with the similarly one-win Cardinals on Sunday has massive implications, never mind that it's just Week 5.
"Gotta win," Burrow said. "Whatever it takes. Doesn't have to be pretty, but gotta come out with a W."
After Cincinnati's 0-2 start last year, the Bengals bounced back with consecutive wins to even their record at 2-2 and eventually picked up steam en route to the franchise's first repeat division title.
This time around, Burrow's strained calf has lingered and been a weekly topic. Along with it, the offense has sputtered and is last in yards (1,457) and 31st in points scored (94). Burrow has hardly been himself, looking eager to get rid of the ball and unable to stretch the field.
The ills of the offense and Burrow's calf need to heel up, but in the meantime, Burrow is making sure not to panic.
"Try not to be frustrated," he said. "That's not going to get anybody anywhere. You just adapt to what you're dealing with. Adapt to how you need to play."
Burrow has thrown for just 728 yards in four games (182 per game) with two touchdowns and two interceptions. So, preaching patience or not, he knows things need to get better in a hurry.
"We have to be better," he said. "We can't ... I mean how many touchdowns have we scored? Three touchdowns. That's not near good enough. We've got a ways to go. We've got the guys in that room to do it, we've got the coaches to do it. We're going to continue to be getting better in practice and put our best foot forward on Sunday."
Thus far this week, Burrow's calf is complying and the QB told reporters on Wednesday that "it's the best I've felt after a game."
"I'm optimistic for this week," said Burrow, who was not listed on the team's Tuesday injury report. "The last couple of weeks we've gotten through without any serious setbacks. So just going to continue to get better in that way."
Optimism can only get you so far, especially when you're staring at a must-win game four weeks before Halloween. But bum calf and all, Burrow is intent on leading the Bengals through the darkness and to a third straight playoff berth.
"It's been a tough couple of weeks. Tough couple of weeks that's for sure," Burrow said. "But we're going to get through it. We've got tough, resilient guys in there. We've got mentally tough guys that have been through a lot, so we know how to handle these situations. It's tough right now, but we're going to get through it."
