The Cincinnati Bengals have been destroyed by their own fans and NFL analysts after continuing to let Joe Burrow get dominated in a meaningless preseason game.
The Bengals traveled to Washington DC to play the Commanders on Monday night, wrapping up the second week of preseason games as the new campaign approaches.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor handed Burrow and some of his other starters valuable reps early on during the game, as did the Commanders with Jayden Daniels scoring a touchdown at Northwest Stadium.
But the Bengals’ offensive line was completely overwhelmed by the Commanders defense, allowing Burrow to come under enormous amounts of pressure and even getting sacked.
The sight of Burrow being chased around by defenders and getting tackled hard to the ground left uncomfortable Bengals fans watching through their fingers.
When Burrow was not taken out of the game, they then quickly went to social media to vent at Taylor and his staff for continuing to put their franchise quarterback at risk.
Bengals fans were left fuming after Joe Burrow was allowed to take hits on Monday night
Burrow got sacked by the Commanders defense as the Bengals’ offensive line crumbled
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor watches on as his franchise quarterback took heavy blows
NFL reporter Albert Bree posted: ‘Someone needs to take Joe Burrow’s helmet and hide it now.’
Another NFL reporter, Ari Meirov, added: ‘Good lord. Get Joe Burrow out of the game. This is super unnecessary.’
A fan posted: ‘Even if Joe Burrow doesn’t get injured, he is still getting banged up and that is one more week of damage he is taking’.
Another commented: ‘Joe Burrow has to get out of the @Bengals organization. Their front office is going to get him killed.’
‘This is why you don’t play your starting QB during preseason… Joe Burrow is going to get murdered out there,’ one Bengals fan said.
‘Are the Bengals trying to give every fan heart palpitations?’ another asked.
Another fan demanded the NFL ‘end preseason games’ because ‘they mean nothing and are hurting players’.
One asked ‘What are they trying to prove?’ while another demanded ‘Zac Taylor needs to be fired’.
Burrow threw a stunning touchdown pass to Charlie Jones early in the second quarter
It has not been a happy summer for the Bengals, who have failed to reach the playoffs in the last two seasons.
The team is now listening to trade offers involving four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson amid an ongoing contract dispute.
Hendrickson, who is slated to make $15.8million in base salary in 2025, has been seeking a new deal all offseason. In mid-May, the star pass rusher told reporters he wouldn’t play this season unless he received a bump in pay.
Hendrickson, 30, led the NFL in sacks last season with 17.5. He has 35 over the past two seasons and 57 in four seasons with the Bengals.
He wants an increase in pay that will place him in the higher echelon of defensive players. Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt just landed the highest annual average salary in history for a defensive player at $41m.
Over the offseason, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett ($40m AAV) and Los Angeles Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby ($35.5m) also landed huge deals.
Hendrickson has been a Pro Bowl selection in all four of his seasons with Cincinnati. He played his first four seasons with the New Orleans Saints, serving as a backup for the first three campaigns.
Hendrickson has 77 sacks, 220 tackles and 14 forced fumbles in 110 games.
