Burrow says Bengals will bounce back from 0-2 start: 'That's what we do'

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow expects his team to bounce back from its slow start to the season - just like last year.

"We've done it before," Burrow said after Cincy's 27-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, according to bengals.com. "Obviously, you don't want to start 0-2, it's not what we're planning on, not what you want to do at all. But now we're going to bounce back, that's what we do, it's all there is to it."

The Bengals kicked off their 2023 campaign with a disappointing 24-3 defeat to the Cleveland Browns, compiling only 142 total yards on offense in the performance. Burrow finished the game with a career-low 82 passing yards while completing just 45.2% of his passes. The 2020 first overall pick played better versus Baltimore, tossing 222 yards and two touchdowns against an end-zone interception. However, it wasn't enough to prevent Cincy from suffering its second loss in as many games.

The Burrow-led Bengals have been in this position before, as they started the 2022 season 0-2. The 26-year-old also showed optimism last year before the team bounced back to finish the campaign with a 12-4 record. Burrow then led Cincy to its second consecutive AFC title game appearance.

"We just didn't play well enough to win either of these games," Burrow added. "We've got to find ways to make those plays down the stretch to win these kinds of games. Every time you play an AFC North team, it's going to look like that. You're going to have seven possessions, so you're going to have to make the most of them."

Burrow, who finished fourth for MVP last season, mentioned a calf injury that sidelined him during training camp as one of the reasons for Cincinnati's slow start in 2023. He aggravated the injury in Week 2.

"I'm still confident," Burrow said. "I feel really confident in all the guys we have in that room. Like I said, we're going to have to see how that calf feels the next couple of days. I don't know how it's going to feel. We'll see."

The Bengals host the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football in Week 3.