Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow apparently loves playing the Baltimore Ravens because they talk trash….we’re sorry, have you met Eli Apple?
In 2021, the Ravens got humiliated by Burrow twice in matchups that neither side will easily forget, and the Bengals ended up going all the way to the Super Bowl while the Ravens finished last in the division.
Winning those two division games started a little fire in Burrow’s belly, and he enters the 2022 season perhaps in need of a bit of humbling himself. Burrow did lead his side to historic success as one of the most efficient and accurate passers in the NFL in just his second year, but this is the Baltimore Ravens he’s playing against.
They’re a perennially winning franchise who had a down year last season, not to mention Burrow only obliterated Baltimore in their second matchup because the Ravens were playing with a practice squad secondary.
In any case, Joe Burrow recently went on the Full Send Podcast to talk back to his AFC North rivals:
"“You don’t really want to talk [trash] to me. [The Ravens] talk. I love that. I threw for 520-something in the second one and I threw for 400-something in the first one. … Yeah, I love playing the Ravens. They like to talk. I don’t start the talking. But if somebody pokes me, I can talk a little bit.”"
Baltimore Ravens have every reason to give Joe Burrow a spanking in 2022
Like we said, have you met Eli Apple?
Burrow may eat his words this season since we don’t see him putting 82 points over Baltimore this time around. The two teams play in Week 5 and Week 18, with the latter game potentially becoming the most high-stakes matchup of the regular season.
The Bengals got stronger offensively with a revamped O-line, but the Ravens got stronger defensively with additions like Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton. The Ja’Marr Chase-Marlon Humphrey matchup ranks as one of the most anticipated battles in the league, and the Joe Burrow-Lamar Jackson QB showdown also makes out to be must-watch entertainment.
Linebacker Patrick Queen, who used to play with Burrow at LSU, responded to Burrow’s trash-talk with a very concise answer that likely conveys the sentiment of the entire Ravens squad.
Cincinnati got their first taste of success last year, but the Ravens established themselves as a winning franchise back when Burrow was in preschool, and they’ll be playing with a vendetta against the league in 2022.
The AFC North projects to be just as unpredictable as it was last year and the odds may have shifted in the Bengals’ favor in recent history.
Don’t underestimate the Ravens, though — they’re coming for you, Burrow.