33 years. That's how long the Cincinnati Bengals have waited to return to the AFC Championship Game. On Saturday night, Joe Burrow led the Bengals to a historic 19-16 win over the Tennessee Titans to book their place in the conference title game — the first time Cincy will make the trip since the 1988 season.
After the Bengals' statement win, Burrow sent a strong message to the rest of the NFL as he put the entire league on notice:
“I'm tired of the underdog narrative,” Burrow said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “We're a really, really good team. We're here to make noise.”
Burrow overcame adversity on Saturday night in a strong performance against the Titans. The Bengals star QB was sacked no less than nine times during the game, but he delivered when it mattered the most. Burrow found Ja'Marr Chase with a perfect pass with less than 20 seconds remaining in the fourth period to get Cincinnati in field-goal territory. This put rookie Evan McPherson in a position to score the game-winning kick for the Bengals from 52 yards out.
Burrow and the Bengals will face off against the winners of Sunday's matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills. In his mind, however, it is clear that Joe Burrow has grown tired of being treated as the underdog and he's going to extreme lengths to prove otherwise.