Joe Burrow reacts to dominant performance vs. Dolphins: 'I'm having fun playing football'

Joe Burrow had fun on Sunday. That’s notable because earlier this month, Burrow made comments in which he suggested that he didn’t want to continue playing football unless he was having fun doing it.

The Cincinnati Bengals were dominant in their 45-21 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Burrow completed 25-of-32 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns. He had a passer rating for 146.5, the second highest of his career. Burrow had fun — for one week, at least.

“It was fun,” Burrow said after the game. “I’m having fun playing football. Not playing football is not fun. Sitting in the locker room rehabbing all day, that’s not why you do it. This is why you do it right here.”

Burrow was singing a different tune ahead of the Week 15 game against the Baltimore Ravens, a 24-0 defeat. He said, “If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it. I’ve been through a lot and if it’s not fun, then what am I doing it for? So that’s the mindset I’m trying to bring to the table.”

Joe Burrow, Bengals will not be playing postseason football

Burrow, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick out of LSU, has missed significant time with injuries in three of his six seasons with the Bengals. The Bengals got off to a 2-0 start this season, but Burrow suffered a toe injury which required surgery. When Burrow returned in Week 13, Cincinnati was 3-8, a long shot to make the postseason. Now 5-10, they are eliminated from playoff contention.

Burrow and the Bengals had an exemplary performance against the Dolphins. It was exactly what they needed after getting shut out by the Ravens.

“I thought I played a clean game,” Burrow said. “I thought I protected the ball for the most part. I got greedy with one over the middle, but that’s how I have to play — play within the scheme and then take my opportunities to try to make a play when I can. But going to limit that for the most part at this point, I was just happy with how we all executed today.”