Bengals’ success built on chemistry
On March 18, 2021, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was running late for dinner at a Cincinnati-area restaurant.
That night wound up being the moment the 2021 Bengals finalized their free agency push and set their goals for the season.
When Burrow eventually walked in, he was a walking symbol of everyone in the room’s heightened expectations.
“He commanded the room,” cornerback Mike Hilton said. “He just had this draw to him that you wanted to be around him; you wanted to be on his team.”
There was a table for the offense and one for the defense as they sat in a blocked-off area toward the front.
Burrow didn’t go right to his chair. He made a lap around each table. He introduced himself to everyone, “Hi, my name is Joe Burrow.”
“It felt like the beginning,” said Hilton, who got the cowboy steak with a caesar salad and a crab cake with an order of pie for dessert. “When we got around each other, we bonded automatically, like we’ve known each other for years..”
Chidobe Awuzie’s favorite part of the night was the chocolate cake. He was expecting a small slice. What he got was a piece that went up to his chin. Awuzie said everybody was laughing at the size, and he responded by finishing it all.
It was the start of the banter that’s now become a staple in the defensive backs room. A friendship that started with jokes about chocolate cake turned into a group of cornerbacks who have a players-only meeting every Tuesday and spend a part of their off-day breaking down film together.
“We got a vibe for the culture in the locker room and the things we’re seeing now,” said Awuzie, who for his main course ordered the Steak Burrow, named after his new quarterback. “That’s a product of what we saw then too. It’s never changed, everything has been so genuine and very welcoming for us.”
Whenever Awuzie has returned over the last nine months, he has always ordered the Steak Burrow. He says it’s just a coincidence that his favorite steak is an homage to the signal caller who set the tone for a franchisechanging week of free agency and franchise-changing season.