Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow is Evolving and Sideline Outburst at Zac Taylor is Proof

The 28-year-old has been more vocal this season.

Dec 15, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) runs off the field against the Tennessee Titans during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was frustrated at the end of Sunday's 37-27 win over the Titans.

Cameras caught the 28-year-old yelling at head coach Zac Taylor on the sideline.

"F*** that," Burrow appeared to say on the sideline. "It's embarrassing."

"I was just frustrated in the day we had on offense," he said after the game. "It was too sloppy. We had too many penalties. Too many procedural penalties. I had too many turnovers. It was just a frustrating day on offense."

The fact that Burrow was yelling at Taylor on the sideline has led to plenty of questions.

Is the star quarterback unhappy with his head coach? Has Taylor lost the locker room? Does Burrow realize he needs a new coach if they're going to get back to the Super Bowl?

The answer to all of those questions appears to be no.

If Taylor lost the locker room, would they have won back-to-back road games in December? That's hard to do in the NFL if you're a bad team that has a head coach that is no longer commanding the room.

Now, that doesn't mean Taylor doesn't deserve blame. It's on him to get the play call in early enough for Burrow to do his job at the line of scrimmage, regardless of any headset issues. That appeared push Burrow over the edge in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Titans.

“The headset went out a couple times on that same drive and sometimes I'm not sure what he's getting through there because mine was making a mistake too,” Taylor said. “I should have been aware of it and called a timeout to keep it on the 1-yard line. Sometimes you're focused on getting the play in and on that one I lost track of the play clock, and he probably did, too.”

Despite the headset issues, I don't think Burrow's outburst has as much to do with Taylor as it does the current state of the Bengals.

Burrow knows what it takes to win.

He led his team to the state title game in high school. He won a National Championship in college, leading LSU to a 15-0 record and helped the Bengals make it to Super Bowl LVI and back-to-back AFC Championship Games.

Burrow knows what it takes to win at a high level.

The Bengals didn't play well on Sunday. They were called for 15 penalties (14 accepted) and turned the ball over four times.

Burrow took blame for his turnovers, but has clearly been more vocal this season.

This is part of his evolution as a quarterback.

He's one of the best players in the world. We knew that coming into this season. What was the next step for Burrow?

Being a more vocal leader.

We saw Tom Brady evolve into this throughout his career. The same thing goes for Peyton Manning.

Burrow knows that true playoff teams don't struggle to put a game away against a bad Titans team after forcing six turnovers. He knows that 15 penalties is unacceptable if they're going to shock the world and make a postseason run. He knows the standard required to beat good teams. The Bengals fell short of that standard against the Titans.

Sunday wasn't the first time we've seen this from Burrow. He wasn't happy after the Bengals beat the Raiders in Week 9.

"I'm not just gonna ignore the bad and dwell on the great that we did today. I don't think that's a recipe for improvement. I don't think that's a recipe for getting better," Burrow said at the time. "I'm gonna be hard on myself. I'm gonna be hard on us to execute the way that I feel like we need to execute."

That's great news for the Bengals. They're going to need Burrow to be that way for the remainder of his career.

He needs to hold his teammates and coaches to a high standard. He needs to hold himself to a high standard.

If he wants to be the best quarterback on the planet, then he's going to have to become an elite leader.

We know he's great on the field. Taking the next step off of it is important too. For his future and for the future of the Cincinnati Bengals.

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