‘It’s do or die’: Burrow eager for Ravens challenge
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow doesn't need any extra motivation this week.
As the Bengals get ready to host the Baltimore Ravens (10-7) for the wild card round game on Sunday night, Burrow is ready to take his game to another level.
“It's do or die,” Burrow said. “It's where you like to be. In those moments is where I kind of make my best plays. It's where I'm comfortable, and these moments are moments that you remember.”
There's not much Burrow hasn't seen in terms of defensive schemes and playoff atmospheres. He led his team to victories on the road in Nashville and Kansas City en route to last year's Super Bowl.
“That's why you prepare and that's why you practice all week, and I think you have to have that mindset as a quarterback in this league if you want to be really successful,” Burrow said. “You can't go out there scared in the moment.
You have to be a little arrogant to go out there in that moment and make plays you need to make, and so that's really something I've thought a lot about and something that I try to do.”
Baltimore finished the season ranked in the top 10 in multiple defensive categories: total defense (No. 9), run defense (No. 3), points per game (No. 3) and red zone defense (No.3).
“They know what we try to do on offense, we know what they try to do on defense," Burrow said. "They try to take away our bread-and-butter stuff, and they're pretty good at it.”
In his first season as defensive coordinator for the Ravens, Mike Macdonald has elevated his unit.
“When you watch the tape, and you see the evolution since our first game, I see a coordinator that's a lot more confident, is a lot more aggressive than he was early in the year,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “And you see the players feed off that, too. They've been more aggressive blitzing. They've been more aggressive in coverage. They've changed some from the beginning of the year, and they're playing with a ton of confidence.”