NFL Week 10 Takeaways: Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow put on a show in TNF Thriller | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

After the Bengals swept the Las Vegas Raiders last week, Joe Burrow was pretty pissed off in the postgame presser, tells journalists the win really didn’t matter.

“Just the way this season has gone, knowing what’s ahead of us, knowing what we have to do to get back into this, one win isn’t going to make or break our season,” Burrow said. “I will continue to strive for perfection every day, every game. Until that happens, what is there to be happy about?”

As it turns out, Burrow’s attitude was prescient.

The fifth-year quarterback certainly can’t be blamed for Thursday’s devastating loss in Baltimore. Burrow threw for 428 yards and four scores. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase went completely ballistic, catching 11 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

These are actual numbers – but they were not enough.

Head coach Zac Taylor will bear the brunt of the loss. And to be fair, there are valid reasons to criticize a few of his decisions. Taylor avoided two long field goals for fourth-down attempts, both of which failed — including a relatively modest 51-yarder.

These are questionable calls. Go for two and the victory at the end of the game was not.

The 389 yards of offense the Ravens amassed Thursday is no laughing matter. But it could have been much higher. Baltimore spent most of the game marching up and down the field at will on Cincy’s 25th-ranked scoring defense. The Bengals got no pressure on Lamar Jackson — and he cut them up as a result.

Taylor went for two because he had no reason to believe the Bengals could get a stop in overtime.

And unless that defense magically improves, Burrow and the Bengals won’t have to worry about two losses to the Ravens by a combined four points that have erased any chance of winning the division.

Because they won’t make the playoffs at all.