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Ben Baby, ESPN Staff Writer
CINCINNATI — Bengals coach Zac Taylor took exception to some of the hits of Joe Burrow during Thursday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens and said he needs to do more to fight for his quarterback.
“They call it like they see it. I respect that,” Taylor said of the officials on Friday. “I just got to keep fighting for some of that stuff. You don’t want to lose him on a [hit] that’s well after the play’s over.”
Taylor said Burrow isn’t one to lobby for penalties during the game. But the coach said he can be more vocal in those situations, both in public and behind the scenes.
“I’ve got to fight harder for Joe to get some of that,” Taylor said. “Because he doesn’t want to do it. He doesn’t want to disrupt from his flow in the game, but that’s just things I got to talk with him about.”
Burrow was hit 13 times and sacked three times in the 35-34 loss at M&T Bank Stadium. A couple of those hits came after Burrow had released the ball and entered a gray area that could be deemed roughing the passer.
He also took a hit to the face on the failed two-point conversion attempt that could have given the Bengals the lead with 38 seconds remaining. Burrow said after the game that the hit was a bit too high, but the play didn’t draw a flag.
Only one hit of Burrow was penalized Thursday, when defensive end Broderick Washington landed with his body weight on the quarterback.
After the game, Burrow suggested the lack of penalties falls in line with what he has dealt with throughout his career.
“I feel like I have never gotten those calls,” Burrow said. “So I don’t really expect that. I feel like there were a couple that were close. Again, I don’t expect those.”
According to ESPN Research, Burrow was pressured on 40% of his dropbacks against the Ravens, the fifth-highest rate of any game in his five-year career. Burrow posted a QBR of 72.6 when pressured, his highest on the 0-100 scale for any game that he had a pressure rate 40% or higher.
Burrow turned in a big performance against the defending AFC North champions. He was 34-of-56 passing for 428 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Two of those touchdowns came with Cincinnati trailing in the fourth quarter after the Bengals had let a 14-point lead slip away in the second half.
Burrow was seen wincing on the broadcast during the game. But Taylor indicated that Burrow did not have any rib injuries and was dealing with soreness Friday.
“I mean, he took some good hits,” Taylor said. “But I think just talking to him, the left arm [injury] was just a hit, bruise.”