There's a reason Joe Burrow wasn't as excited as Cincinnati Bengals fans expected following the team's first playoff win in 31 years Saturday: the quarterback believes postseason success will be Cincy's new standard moving forward.
"The fans were very excited, but I tried to downplay it and all that because this is how it's gonna be from here on out," Burrow said Tuesday, according to Local 12. "It was a great win for us. But now this is the standard for the bare minimum every year going forward."
The Bengals edged the Las Vegas Raiders at home Saturday, clinching their first postseason victory since the 1990 season. Burrow went viral during his postgame press conference, saying "it felt good" to break the 31-year drought.
The 25-year-old was Cincinnati's first overall pick last year, but his rookie campaign ended prematurely after he suffered a torn ACL in Week 11.
"I thought (snapping the playoff win drought) would happen last year, but unfortunately I got hurt," Burrow said. "We weren't super good last year. This year this is the expectation."
Big games aren't new to Burrow, who also led LSU to an undefeated campaign and the national title in January 2020 before turning pro.
The Bengals, who went 4-11-1 and finished last in the AFC North in 2020, went from worst to first this season, winning the division with a 10-7 record.
Burrow led the NFL in completion percentage (70.4) and yards per pass attempt (8.9) while tossing 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns against 11 interceptions through 16 appearances.
Cincinnati will try to clinch a spot in the AFC title game on the road against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.
