Bengals are already looking ahead to their return next season
The Cincinnati Bengals prevailed 31-14 over the Cleveland Browns in their final game of the season to finish with a winning 9-8 record. Immediately, in the postgame, the Bengals were already looking ahead to next season. One of them being Joe Burrow. Rarely posting on his social media platforms, Burrow returned to his Instagram to provide a brief message: “Sorry for the missed time. Return of the Jedi….”
Like these articles, Joe was making a movie analogy…and his analogy is a perfect one. Return of the Jedi is the third installment in the original Star Wars trilogy. In it, the Jedi referenced in the title, Luke Skywalker, makes his triumphant return to do battle against the opposition forces that left his allies battered and broken and essentially left him for dead in Empire Strikes Back.
Luke sustains a serious injury at the end of Empire; Darth Vader shears off his hand at the wrist with the blow of his lightsaber. Coincidentally enough, it was Joe Burrow who had his wrist incapacitated, sustaining a season-ending injury by tearing the ligament in his throwing wrist.
In Jedi, our first glimpse of Luke Skywalker is him striding confidently and assuredly into Jabba the Hutt’s palace, focused and seemingly unfazed by the dangers that may await. At each obstacle Jabba throws in Luke’s path, it’s clear that Luke is now more powerful than ever before.
This is Burrow’s message…that he (Burrow) will return from injury and, as Obi-Wan Kenobi once promised about Luke, “become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” The league is on notice. The Joe Burrow revenge tour is coming in 2024.
Before we look ahead to next year, let’s recap 2023.
Best Moment
Remember back to the San Francisco 49ers game in Week 8? The Bengals looked like they could become the best team in the league after that dominant performance on the road against one of the NFL’s best teams. Amongst a vast array of highlights from the 49ers game, the most memorable play is when Joe Burrow somehow emerged from the chaos of his multiple defenders to scramble and toss a first down throw on a third down and 10-yard scenario on the game’s opening drive. The play was part of a 10-play, 85-yard drive, culminating in the game’s first touchdown. It was an early tone-setter for Cincinnati that afternoon, signaling that Burrow had returned to full health. More than anything, that game and moment showed the promise and potential of what this team and season could have been.
The best moment in Jedi is Darth Vader’s redemption. Vader’s image has been somewhat eroded thanks to the prequels so it may be difficult to remember how ominous a character Vader once was in the original Star Wars trilogy and how truly shocking the reveal was of his being Luke’s father. So when Vader is moved to rediscover his paternal love and turns on his master, the Emperor, in defense of his son, Luke, it was a gratifying moment and resolution to the Skywalker story. Darth Vader relocates the once-lost man inside, Anakin Skywalker, and turns from villain to hero in his final act.
Runners-Up
The Jake Browning awakening game on an exciting Monday Night in Jacksonville was a tremendous surprise to the fanbase and indicated that perhaps the 2023 season wasn’t over yet. The exhilarating speeder bike chase on Endor in Jedi was a special effects miracle at the time in 1983.
Best Performance
Trey Hendrickson had a season for the ages in stripes. The defensive end set a new franchise record for quarterback sacks in a single season with 17.5 which tied him for second in the league behind only the Steelers’ T.J. Watt, who had 19. Trey’s 16
Tackles for Loss also ranked within the Top 10 of the NFL.
On a defense that underwhelmed from past years, Hendrickson became even more dominant, attaining arguably the best season that any Bengals pass rusher has ever enjoyed this year, Hendrickson was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl. Because of the size of the Cincinnati television market and his less flashy, workmanlike style, Hendrickson isn’t as celebrated as the other dominant pass rushers of his era with whom he keeps company. He should be.
Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher get little to do in Jedi so, by default, Mark Hamill’s portrayal of Luke Skywalker is the best of the lead performances. For my money, however, the most captivating performance may be Ian Ian McDiarmid’s turn as the Galactic Emperor. Though McDiarmid chews the scenery up and hams it up to full effect, he also imbues his character with enough dread and danger that we fear for Luke’s safety.
Runners-Up
Ja’Marr Chase recorded his third consecutive season with over 1,000 receiving yards, with 1,197 yards this season and seven touchdowns. He’s one of two players in NFL history (Randy Moss) with over 2,000 receiving yards and 20 receiving touchdowns under the age of 23. It took up to seven puppeteers to bring the slug-like gangster overlord, Jabba the Hutt, to life and the result is an indelible character that seems alive.
Best Quote
There is a lot to learn for the Bengals from the 2023 season. They need to fix the defense, which finished second worst in the league for total defense. They also need to upgrade the running game, which also finished second worst, in order to bring balance to the offense.
Speaking of the passing game, who will return? Will the Bengals be able to bring back Tee Higgins? Is long-tenured Tyler Boyd’s career in Cincinnati over? The Bengals will also have a hole to fill at offensive tackle as Jonah Williams has likely played his last game for the franchise.
2023 was a season of tremendous ups and downs. As Joe Burrow said, “It was a weird year. It never really felt like we really reached our potential to what we were.” If the rest of the league thinks the Bengals 2023 season is representative of their true potential, they should be careful. As the rebel commander, Admiral Ackbar, exclaims in Jedi, when the Imperial surprise attack commences during the rebels’ attack run on the new Death Star, in the film’s most recited line, “It’s a trap!” to think the Bengals and Joe Burrow aren’t a sleeping giant in 2024. The Jedi will Return.
Postseason
Since the Bengals won’t be playing in the postseason, here’s a potential guide of teams you should consider rooting for in the playoffs:
NFC:
– San Francisco 49ers. Forget it! The 9ers beat the Bengals twice in the Super Bowl. First in ‘81 and then more cruelly in ‘88, tearing our hearts out with a winning Joe Montana touchdown drive with 34 seconds left.
– Dallas Cowboys. If you’re not a Cowboys fan already, how can you possibly stomach the “America’s Team” arrogance? Not a chance!
– Detroit Lions. Bengals fans should understand the Lions fans’ plight the best. After the Bengals 2021 playoff win against the Raiders ended a 31-year playoff win drought, the mantle of that dubious record was passed to the Lions. They haven’t won a playoff game since the 1991 season (January 5, 1992). This is a fanbase that has endured an 0-16 season and never been to a Super Bowl. They have one of my favorite coaches in the league in Dan Campbell, a riverboat gambler that shows no fear in certain situations where it’d be easy to play it safe. If there is a team and fanbase to get behind, it’s the Detroit Lions. Go Lions!
– Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have Baker Mayfield, a former Brown, quarterbacking them, so absolutely not.
– Philadelphia Eagles. Perhaps but their fanbase is entirely too negative to be deserving of continued success.
– Los Angeles Rams. Remember that world title that was in our grasp two years ago and the eternal happiness that was stolen from us? It was thanks to the Rams. Hell no!
– Green Bay Packers. Perhaps, but their fanbase has been too spoiled by consistent great quarterback play for the past 35 years. Someone else needs their moment.
AFC:
– Baltimore Ravens. When hell freezes over.
– Buffalo Bills. A franchise and team we will be forever linked to because of the Damar Hamlin game of last season. It should be easy to get behind a coach and players that showed their character throughout that ordeal. The Bengals are also linked to the Bills because of the Andy Dalton to Tyler Boyd touchdown on 4th down against the Ravens that sent the Bills to the playoffs in 2017. Bills fans responded by donating millions to Andy Dalton’s charity as a sign of thanks. The Bills Mafia is unlike most others and have never been rewarded with a Super Bowl title. Buffalo should be a strong consideration.
– Kansas City Chiefs. Not after the way last season ended. Absolutely not!
– Houston Texans. They are quarterbacked by former Ohio State Buckeye, CJ Stroud, one of the league’s newest and most exciting rising stars. Go Buckeyes and Go Texans!
– Cleveland Browns. Most Bengals fans would say no but it’s hard not to feel somewhat of a kinship to a fanbase and franchise that has known mostly futility and heartache. It’s a possibility if you can find that empathy for your AFC North brethren.
– Miami Dolphins. Love their coach, Mike McDaniel, and their offense is exciting to watch. Perhaps.
– Pittsburgh Steelers. Over my dead body.
In summary: In the NFC, it’s the Lions all the way! In the AFC, it’s the Bills, Texans and—if you are able to muster that empathy—maybe even, the Browns.
Jon Bunch is an avid life-long Bengals fanatic. Raised in the 740. West Pointer, Army and Iraq War veteran. Passionate evangelist of the Who-Dey spirit. @WhoDeyBunch
