NFL Week 10 Takeaways: Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow Put on a Show in TNF Thriller | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

After the Bengals beat the Las Vegas Raiders last week, Joe Burrow was rather grumpy in the postgame press conference, telling reporters that the win really meant nothing.

“The way this season has gone, knowing what lies ahead, knowing what we need to do to get back into this season, one win is not going to make or break our season,” Burrow said. “I will continue to strive for perfection every day and every game. Until then, what can I be happy about?”

As it turned out, Burrow’s attitude was foreboding.

The fifth-year quarterback certainly can’t be blamed for Thursday’s devastating loss in Baltimore. Burrow threw for a whopping 428 yards and four scores. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was thrilled, catching 11 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

These are actual numbers – but they weren’t enough.

It will be head coach Zac Taylor who will bear the brunt of the loss. And to be fair, there are legitimate reasons to criticize some of his decisions. Taylor avoided two long field goal attempts in the fourth, both of which failed – including a relatively modest 51-yarder.

These are questionable calls. Going for two and getting the win at the end of the game was not the case.

The 389 yards of offense the Ravens racked up on Thursday isn’t a ridiculous number. But it could have been much higher. Baltimore spent much of the game marching up and down the field at will to monitor Cincy’s 25th goal defense. The Bengals didn’t put pressure on Lamar Jackson – and he split them apart as a result.

Taylor went for two because he had no reason to believe the Bengals could get a stop in overtime.

And unless that defense magically improves, Burrow and the Bengals won’t have to worry about two losses to the Ravens by a total of four points that have ended any chance of winning the division.

Because they won’t be in the playoffs at all.