The Cincinnati Bengals finished with a 9-8 record during the 2024 season, and they missed the playoffs. Quarterback Joe Burrow played at an MVP level for the Bengals, and the defense was absolutely horrendous.
Cincinnati is looking to get back to the playoffs in the 2025 season. If they miss the playoffs once again and if Burrow has another sensational season, is there a chance that he will want to stay with the Bengals for the long-term? This team has the pieces to get back to the playoffs as long as the defense plays better than it did during the 2024 season.
NFL Analyst Reveals Worst Case Scenario For the Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow Entering the 2025 NFL Season
Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports covers the NFL, and he has been going in depth on a lot of NFL teams before the 2025 season. Schwab listed the Bengals at number 14 in his power rankings before the 2025 NFL season begins. He realizes that Cincinnati’s offense is going to be elite once again this season, but the defense is a major question mark.
Also, Schwab talked about a potential worst-case scenario for this franchise entering the 2025 NFL season and said,
“Having an elite quarterback also keeps a team’s floor pretty high. It’s impossible to see the Bengals losing double-digit games unless injuries hit hard. But who cares if the Bengals go 9-8 again? Joe Burrow’s prime won’t last forever. The Bengals have made the playoffs only twice in Burrow’s first five seasons (he was injured late in the 2020 and 2023 seasons). Is he going to be the modern day Archie Manning, a talented quarterback who is stuck in an underachieving organization? The Bengals watched their defense ruin last season and didn’t make any significant player additions to fix it. The Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart contract disputes allowed everyone to bring up the Bengals’ old reputation of being a cheap franchise. The Bengals missed the playoffs last season and bring back mostly the same team, so it isn’t wild to believe Cincinnati could miss the playoffs again. While it’s far, far more common in the NBA to see a superstar ask out from a flailing franchise, is it possible that Burrow could reach that point? The Bengals might want to operate with urgency to avoid ever finding out.”
After the 2025 NFL season, Burrow will have four years remaining on his contract with the Bengals. It would be hard to believe that he would want to ask out. He does have Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase locked up for the next four years or so, that is not the issue. The issue is that Cincinnati’s front office needs to give Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart contract extensions before the start of the 2025 NFL season.
During the 2024 season, Burrow completed 70.6% of his passes for 4,918 yards, 43 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He was number one in the NFL in passing yards and was also number in the NFL in passing touchdowns. Burrow has a chance to be near the top of the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns once again in 2025. He also rushed for 201 yards on 42 carries and two touchdowns, along with averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
If Cincinnati were to miss the playoffs again, head coach Zac Taylor will most likely be fired and they will need to find a new head coach for the 2026 NFL season. Burrow and this franchise do not want to find that out. It would also feel shocking if Burrow asked out of the Bengals organization after the 2025 season if they missed the playoffs again. This is a franchise that needs to make the playoffs and win playoff games again. Cincinnati was the last team not named the Kansas City Chiefs to make the Super Bowl from the AFC Conference.
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