"You have to set expectations with yourself": Why Joe Burrow believes the Bengals’ 2026 Super Bowl push feels ‘inevitable’ after years of frustrating setbacks

Joe Burrow does not use the word "inevitable" loosely. He used it once before, back in the summer of 2019 at LSU, when something in the building told him that team was going to do something special. It did. Fifteen wins, a national championship, and a Heisman Trophy later, that gut feeling had a name. Now, seven years on and sitting in an office off the Bengals' locker room during training camp, Burrow said the word again. Cincinnati, he believes, is built to make a serious run at the Super Bowl in 2026.Why does Joe Burrow think the 2026 Bengals can win the Super Bowl?It starts with the defense, and Joe Burrow is clear about that. The Bengals spent the offseason solving a problem that cost them last season. Defensive line depth was a visible weakness in 2025. This year, they traded up to land Dexter Lawrence II, brought in Jonathan Allen, signed pass rusher Boye Mafe, and added safety Bryan Cook, who arrives with a Super Bowl ring fresh in his memory."The vibe of the defense is really good right now," Burrow said. "Our defensive line is so deep this year. The depth of that unit was a weak point last year. Now we have nine or 10 guys that we feel good about putting out there in five-down sets."That defensive depth changes something important on the offensive side too. For the past couple of seasons, Burrow felt like every possession was desperate, every third down a must-convert situation. That urgency wore on the offense. With a defense capable of keeping games close and manageable, the offense can actually breathe."The last couple of years, it felt like every possession was do or die," he said. "It doesn't really feel that way this year. I think we can commit to the run, we can commit to play-action. We'll drop back and throw it 60 times if we have to, but I don't think that's a recipe for success week in and week out."Coach Zac Taylor has watched the offseason additions change the mood inside the facility. When a player of Burrow's caliber, with his experience and track record, publicly declares a team capable of winning it all, Taylor is not bothered by the pressure that comes with it."Somebody who's been there, done that and knows what it's going to take to get there, we shouldn't shy away from anything he says in that regard," Taylor said.How have Joe Burrow's injuries changed the way he plays Quarterback?Joe Burrow has missed significant playing time in three of his six NFL seasons. A freak wrist injury in 2023, a defense that had aged past its prime in 2024, and turf toe that cost him nine games last year. Each absence left a mark. But each one also taught him something about his own game that he could not have learned staying healthy.Playing through turf toe last season, Burrow lost his mobility. He could not escape pressure the way he normally does. So he adapted, learning to operate from the pocket more efficiently, managing risk earlier in games, and getting rid of the ball to live for the next play."I had to tailor my game to that," he said. "Not being able to move around, I can mitigate risk early in the game until it's needed."That mindset showed up concretely over the final three games of 2025. He completed nearly 77 percent of his passes for 850 yards, nine touchdowns, one interception, and a 125.9 passer rating. The numbers suggest a quarterback who figured something out under the worst conditions.Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher noticed it too. A late-season checkdown to running back Chase Brown, where Burrow quickly read the defense, abandoned the intended deep route, and delivered a short pass that Brown turned into a 23-yard gain, illustrated the point perfectly."It's just feeling like, if the run game is as good or better than it's ever been and the protections are as good or better than they've ever been, that allows you as the quarterback maybe to not feel like every down is do or die," Pitcher said.Does Joe Burrow think he is the best Quarterback in the NFL right now?Joe Burrow's answer to that question says a lot about how his thinking has matured. He does not chase individual rankings. He smirks at the framing."I always expect to be the best," he said. "The best version of me is going to be the best. I always expect to be the best version of me."When pushed on whether that means best in the league, he pulled back from the label without pulling back from the confidence."I think that's so arbitrary," he said. "Every Sunday, there's going to be a different best player in the league, depending on who you're playing. I really want to win games. I want to be playing when it matters, January, February. That's why you do it."He also has unfinished business at SoFi Stadium specifically. The 2026 Super Bowl returns to the same venue where the Bengals lost to the Rams in February 2022. Burrow's stat line that night was fine. He does not see it that way."I just didn't play good enough," he said. "Not good enough to win a Super Bowl against Matt Stafford. As far as my game now, it's so much more evolved, and I'm such a better player than I was at the time."That is not denial. It is an honest assessment from someone who has studied every layer of what separates good quarterbacks from winning ones in February. And for Burrow, right now, the gap feels smaller than it ever has."I've never understood why people are scared to say it," he said. "You have to set expectations with yourself, your teammates, your organization. Everybody says they want to win the Super Bowl, you talk about it every day, you set that expectation every day, you go and work for it every single day."Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.