WhenJoe Burrow decided to be honest about his feelingswith the media this week, a black cloud moved in over the Cincinnati Bengals franchise. It's not going away anytime soon.
Burrow had a strange media conference this week on his 29th birthday, wondering aloud what he's playing for if he's not having fun, which launched everyone into amateur psychologist mode. Did he mean he wanted to be traded? Is he going to pull a Barry Sanders/Calvin Johnson/Andrew Luck and walk away? Is he just tired of losing? Maybe he was just having a bad day, who knows, but it opened everyone's eyes to the reality that the Bengals haven't done enough around their quarterback.
They wereofficially eliminated from the playoffson Sunday. Cincinnati will miss the playoffs for the third straight season in Burrow's prime, which is inconceivable and unforgivable. Injuries to Burrow have played a big part in that, but the Bengals' incompetence in protecting him is a big part of the injuries. And a terrible defense has little to do with Burrow missing games.
Sunday's 24-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens,which dropped the Bengals to 4-10 this season, is only going to increase the speculation. Burrow didn't look anything like himself. TheBengals scored 32 points on the Ravensjust a couple weeks ago, but did very little on Sunday. Burrow was stuck on 71 yards in the first half against a suspect Ravens defense that he picked apart on Thanksgiving. On the final play of the first half, the Bengals wanted a Hail Mary pass, but Burrow held the ball and took a sack without ever getting the throw off.
With the Bengals being shut out in the fourth quarter, Burrow blindly threw an interception under extreme pressure near the end zone that was intercepted by Kyle Van Noy and then handed off to safety Alohi Gilman for a pick 6 that covered 95 yards.
One of the NFL's best quarterbacks just looked ... off. It was one of the worst games of his career. His 58.2 passer rating was the second-worst in his career. It's hard to not connect that terrible performance with his comments and mood from a few days earlier.
"If I'm being honest, I've never been in a situation with him where I've had to uplift him, but going forward I might need to because he does it for me," star receiver Ja'Marr Chase said,via Mike Petraglia of the Jungle Roar Pod. "You never know what he might be going through. I might need to start doing that."
Burrow'spostgame media conferencedidn't offer much more insight into what is going on with him. He said the initial comments made on Wednesday wasn't an indictment of the Bengals or wanting out.
"My comments hadnothing to do with Cincinnati, my comments had everything to do with me and my mindset, and football," Burrow said.
He took blame for the loss, saying he played poorly and adding: "There's not a team in the NFL that would have won the game today if I was the quarterback."
We don't know what's going on with Burrow, but it doesn't take a hundred think-pieces on his mental state to see that what Cincinnati is with him right now isn't good enough. The Bengals are just 17-15 in his starts over the past three seasons with no playoff appearances. They went from a Super Bowl contender to turning him into the modern Archie Manning, a great quarterback who's gettingbeat up in an untenable situation.
Whether Burrow meant to or not, his answer started a referendum on the Bengals' entire franchise near the end of a lost season. Bengals ownership has never been known for problem solving, but it definitely has a problem on its hands now. The answers to what will put Burrow in a situation to win and perhaps be a little more chipper have to come quickly. And it all won't be easy to fix, with a quarterback and two star receivers making a ton of money but huge issues needing addressed on the offensive line and defense.
The Bengals also have to wonder if head coach Zac Taylor is still the answer after another disappointing season. While it looked like they were going through the motions on Sunday, that's practically been their entire season, just usually with a few more points on the scoreboard.
After the game, Chase told reporters when asked if he would support offseason changes: "If I had a say-so, it would probably be something." It's rare to hear a player be that blunt on the subject of major changes.
Ja'Marr Chase on if he'd make offseason changes with Bengals eliminated from playoffs, via@Trags:"If I had a say-so, it would probably be something. But I can only control what I can control."pic.twitter.com/cB0LZkIV0p
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL)December 14, 2025
A different result Sunday could have helped smooth over the narrative. If Burrow played like he did against the Ravens the first time and Cincinnati won, it would have seemed like a midweek talking point and maybe it would have died down a bit. Then the Bengals could have felt a little better about everything. Now they have to wonder if what the miserable performance we saw from Burrow on Sunday was a manifestation of his dejected state that he described a few days earlier. If so, that's not a mess Cincinnati can easily clean up.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 15 of the NFL season:
WINNERS
Josh Allen, MVP?:The formula for MVP voting for most of this century is that the award comes from a quarterback from a No. 1 seed, or at least a division winner. The last time MVP was won by a quarterback whose team didn't win the division was 2008. But nobody is playing better than Allen.
The good news for Allen is the Buffalo Bills aren't out of the running to win the AFC East. Not yet, afterBuffalo came all the way back from a 21-0 deficit to beat the New England Patriots 35-31.The 10-4 Bills are one game behind the 11-3 Patriots for the division lead. Allen had three passing touchdowns and dragged his team back into the game. What looked like an MVP statement for Drake Maye early in the game became a good argument for Allen to win the award again.
JOSH ALLEN TO DAWSON KNOX. BILLS TAKE THE LEAD.BUFvsNE on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/dwXYqQsO7D
— NFL (@NFL)December 14, 2025
The Bills are flawed, as they showed digging that 21-0 hole early in the game. But as long as they have Allen playing like a superhero, they're capable of special things like their comeback on Sunday.
C.J. Stroud:We know by now that the Houston Texans have the best defense in the NFL. They also have a third-year quarterback who not long ago had what might have been the greatest rookie season for a quarterback in NFL history.
Stroud has stalled a bit since then, though that's not all his fault. The Texans' offensive infrastructure around him has been lacking. But Stroud looked really good on Sunday in a 40-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He started with a pass that hit Nico Collins in stride for a 57-yard touchdown, and kept it rolling from there. Stroud had 260 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a stellar game.
The Texans' defense alone might be enough to launch them to an AFC South title and perhaps a deep playoff run. If Stroud can play like he did Sunday, and elevate an offense that is flawed around him, Houston will be even more dangerous.
Trevor Lawrence:Like the Texans and Stroud, the Jacksonville Jaguars' ceiling raises if Trevor Lawrence plays like he did Sunday.
Lawrence had one of the best games of his career in a 48-20 win over the New York Jets. He had six total touchdowns for the first time in his career. He had 330 yards and five touchdowns passing and added a rushing touchdown. The Jets looked checked out from the opening kickoff, but it was still a strong day for Lawrence.
He's been up and down throughout his career, and his first season under new head coach Liam Coen has had some uneven and frustrating moments, but he had been playing better lately. And he was phenomenal on Sunday. Maybe that's a sign that he's finally clicking in Coen's scheme.
The Jaguars might need to win out to hold off the Texans for the division title. If Lawrence can play anywhere near the level he hit against the Jets, maybe Jacksonville can run the table.
Terry McLaurin:It hasn't been an easy season for McLaurin. Right after his high-profile contract dispute ended, he has dealt with injuries and not a lot of production. But he's wildly popular in the Washington Commanders' franchise, and it was good to see him operate as the closer on Sunday.
McLaurin had a 51-yard touchdownin the fourth quarter against the New York Giants that helped put away a 29-21 win. Washington's defense got one final stop in the final minute to clinch the victory. The loss pushed the 2-12 Giants closer to locking up the first overall pick of the NFL Draft for the first time since 1965.
The Commanders have had a miserable season and McLaurin's big play doesn't change that all too much. But it was a nice highlight to feel good about.
LOSERS
The Chiefs and their lost season:TheKansas City Chiefs were already having a bad season, and then late in a 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers,it got a lot worse.
Patrick Mahomes went down late in the fourth quarter, and was holding his left knee. Gardner Minshew II came in the game, which was close at that point with theChiefsdriving for a potential game-tying field goal. But the game itself wasn't on anyone's mind at that point, with the franchise quarterback in serious pain, being helped back to the locker room. Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters after the game that Mahomes would have an MRI but it"didn't look good."
Mahomes left knee buckles and he has left the gamepic.twitter.com/a0dkUXynjE
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs)December 14, 2025
Minshew threw an interception that ended the game andmathematically eliminated the Chiefs from playoff contention.If that was the worst news Kansas City had on Sunday, it would have still been a rough day. Now the Chiefs have a much bigger concern to follow.
Las Vegas Raiders:The speculation over Pete Carroll might be shifting from whether he'll be one-and-done to whether he'll even make it to the end of the season.
The Raiders are the NFL's most unserious franchise. The Philadelphia Eagles, who have looked like a shell of themselves, looked great again Sunday. That's what happens when you face the Raiders, who did almost nothing on offense. Kenny Pickett started in place of the injured Geno Smith at quarterback, and the defense wasn't much better. Philadelphia won 31-0 and it seemed like an even bigger blowout than that. Las Vegas has lost 12 of 13 games since Week 1, and the only win came at home against the Titans. The Raiders are an embarrassment.
Carroll was brought in to quickly elevate the Raiders' level, and it has somehow gotten far worse. It's hard to see how it would be all that much better next season.
Shedeur Sanders:Every game this season shouldn't be a judgment on Sanders' ability to stick in the NFL, but for some it will be. He draws attention like no fifth-round rookie ever has.
Sunday wasn't a good day for Sanders or the Cleveland Browns. The Chicago Bears, in frigid cold, shut down the Browns offense and got an easy 31-3 win, setting up a massive NFC North showdown next Saturday night against the Packers. Sanders played poorly. He was 18 of 35 for 177 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. Hisinterception to linebacker D'Marco Jackson over the middleled to D.J. Moore's second touchdown and the Bears' 21-3 lead at that point effectively put the game on ice.
That poor game doesn't mean Sanders can't be a good NFL starter, just like last week's 364-yard game didn't prove he was the unquestioned answer at quarterback for 2026 and beyond. It's an evaluation process and the Browns are far from done with it. That's why they named Sanders the starter for the rest of the season.
That won't slow down the overreactions. Sanders struggled Sunday, and now his critics have a week to do their victory laps.
