With the notable exception of quarterback Joe Burrow, everyone in the Cincinnati Bengals locker room was understandably excited after Sunday’s 41-24 victory over the visiting Las Vegas Raiders.
Not only was it Cincinnati’s fourth win in the last six games, but the defense that struggled during the Bengals’ 0-3 start to the season finally showed signs of progress.
“You responded in the right way,” jubilant head coach Zac Taylor told his team afterwards, as seen in post-match locker room footage shared on the team’s X page. ‘Defense, after that first drive you started bunkering, man. You bunkered them and shut them down for the rest of the game.”
Burrow was his usual brilliant self, throwing five touchdowns. He even earned a game ball from Taylor, who threw it to his quarterback just off the screen.
Only, as many fans quickly noticed, the ball was immediately tossed back in Taylor’s general direction and into the hands of a nearby equipment manager.
No, Joe Burrow wasn’t in the mood to celebrate after Sunday’s win over the visiting Raiders
Bengals coach Zac Taylor and his players were in the mood to celebrate after Sunday’s win
“Did Burrow throw the game ball back?” asked a fan on X.
Another added that ‘Burrow didn’t want the ball.’
A Bengals spokeswoman did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for more information.
There remains a chance that Burrow left the memento for safekeeping with an equipment manager, but the quarterback’s postgame demeanor suggests he wasn’t interested in memorializing a performance he was dissatisfied with.
Fans all noticed the same thing after the locker room celebration in Cincinnati
“Get your damn body right, get your mind right,” Burrow yelled at teammates in the locker room, referring to Thursday’s game with rival Baltimore. “It’s a big one on Thursday.”
Despite scoring 41 points on Sunday, Burrow felt the offense actually underperformed.
“There were some mental mistakes in the third quarter that we have to clean up,” Burrow said, as quoted by Paul Dehner Jr. from The Athletic.
“There’s a combination of things that I didn’t think we did well enough,” Burrow said. ‘I’m going to maintain my level of play. I’m going to get my idea of the standard that we have to meet as an offensive and coaching staff, myself and everyone. If I feel like we’re making it happen, I’ll let us know. If I feel like we’re not delivering, I’ll let us know too.
‘Good and bad today. No time to dwell on the good we had today.’