It’s looking like all aboard the Cincinnati Bengals hype train now.
With the team going into San Francisco after the bye and securing that blowout win over the 49ers, national talking heads and otherwise are all on the Bengals are back vibes.
It’s hard to blame those who fell off the ride, of course. Joe Burrow’s calf injury that derailed the start of the season is one of the trickier soft-tissue issues to project, so onlookers were justified in wondering if the season might be lost.
Instead, the Bengals are 4-3, looking good and on the receiving end of some very strong reactions after the win over the 49ers.
Kay Adams
So excited for the Bengals!
Let’s gooooo coach Louuuu pic.twitter.com/3f1lR8SEo5
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) October 30, 2023
“The Bengals are back” and some lofty praise for defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
Pat McAfee
Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals are ALL THE WAY BACK#PMSLive #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/vpRGlvh5z2
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 30, 2023
Similar theme from McAfee, with some helpful comparison shots of Burrow from earlier in the season to current Burrow.
Rich Eisen
Joe Burrow was nearly perfect and #RuleTheJungle forced three turnovers as Cincinnati went into San Francisco and looked like AFC Contenders with a 31-17 win:#NFL #FTTB pic.twitter.com/91e2Z7gw90
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) October 30, 2023
Few do it better than Eisen, who says it’s safe to stop worrying about the Bengals now.
Peter King
King picks out a single play from Burrow to go long about and it’s fantastic: “In that situation, great execution by Burrow. He’s just so confident, so unshakeable. Now that Burrow’s achy calf muscle that erased training camp and made him ineffective for the Bengals’ toothless 1-3 start has faded—faded is right, because it’s not altogether gone—Cincinnati should be serious contenders again. The 31-17 win Sunday and Burrow’s brilliant show (28 of 32, 87.5-percent accuracy, three TDs, no picks) gave him a 111.8 rating in the team’s three-game winning streak.”
CBS Sports
The Bengals proved themselves big time after weathering the injury storm: “Sometimes, the measure of a team is how it fares when things aren’t going well. Other times, it’s how the team fares when things are rolling. The Bengals stayed afloat during the early part of their season, through Joe Burrow’s injury struggles, and now they’re back among the NFL’s best. Burrow showed his patented pinpoint accuracy and some recently rediscovered scrambling ability as Cincinnati walloped the 49ers, 31-17.”
Nate Davis
Bengals praised for winning a third game in a row: “Conversely, the Cincinnati Bengals, who beat the 49ers in Silicon Valley, appear all the way back after winning for the fourth time in their past five games. QB Joe Burrow is moving much better since his previously debilitating calf injury, passing for 283 yards and three TDs and rushing for 43 more yards in a 31-17 victory.”
The Athletic
Bengals back as Super Bowl contenders, per Tim Graham: “Cincinnati, meanwhile, has looked increasingly like a Super Bowl contender since mustering a field goal against Tennessee in Week 4. Burrow threw only four incomplete passes Sunday, two of them on his first series, and maybe — just maybe — he finally is getting on the same page as Tee Higgins. Burrow had completed only 38.9 percent of his attempts to Higgins before Sunday, but they connected on five of six targets for 69 yards.”
NFL.com
Bengals now playing the best ball of their season so far: “Is Burrow all the way back? Maybe not, but that makes the Bengals’ potential even scarier. Seemingly everyone was involved Sunday. Ja’Marr Chase had a score and 100 yards on 10 catches, while Joe Mixon had a season-best 87 rushing yards. But Burrow is the unquestioned straw that stirs the Bengals’ drink. After he and Cincy literally and figuratively limped to a 1-3 start, they won their third in a row on Sunday. Heading into a prime-time Week 9 showdown with the Bills, Burrow and the Bengals are playing their best football of the season. “
