Bengals QB Burrow ready to take on Chiefs in AFC Championship

ONLINE ARE IN LIMITED STOCK. BLACK OWNED SAYS THEY ARE HOPING TO RENEW THEIR LICENSE WITH THE BENGALS FOR NEXT SEASON. JOE BURROW IS GIVING A NEWS CONFERENCE. LET’S LISTEN IN. >> -- WHATT IS IGOING TO TAKE TO WIN THE CONFERENCE AND FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR? >> NEAR PERCT. EVERY WEEK OF THE PLAYOFFS HAS PROVEN THAT. IT GOES THROUGH KAASNS CITY, AND PATRICK MAHOMES HAS BEEN NEAR PERFTEC FOR FOUR YEARS, HOWEVER MANY YEARS HE HAS BEEN STARTING, SO TT IS WHAT IT IS GOING TO TAKE FOR ME. SIT I NOT JUST A QUARTERBACK DRIVEN GAME. IT IS A TEAM GAME. BUT I THINK WINS AND LOSSSE, IT COMES DOWN TO HOW EACH CORNERBACK PLAYS. >> NEXT QUESTION, JEREMY RAO. >> I DON’T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE THIS.DON’T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE CAN YOU SEE THIS PHOTO OF YOU ?YOUR DAD TWEETED THAT THIS MORNING, HE PHOTO OF YOU IN A CHIEFS HELMET FROM WHEN YOU WERE A LITTLE TYKE, AND HE SAID YOU WERE A BIG CHIEFS FAN. HOW MUCH DID YOU REALLY LOVE THAT SHE’S GROWING UP, CONSIDERING WHERE YOU WERE BORN AND EVERYTHING, AND WHAT IS IT LIKE NOW PLAYING THIS STEAM WITH EVERY THING ON THE LINE? >> I WAS PROBABLY A CHIEFS FAN BEFORE I CAN REMEMBER BEING A CHIEFS FAN. I WAS PROBABLY TOO YOUNG TO RUMOR ALL OF THAT, BUT I STILL HAVE THAT LITTLE PLASTICEL HMET IN MY ROOM BACK HOME. SO THAT IS WHAT IT IS. >> NEXT QUESONTI, JEFF HOBSON. JEFF? YOU ARE ON ME.UT >> THANKS. THAT IS KINDA FITTING. I’VE GOT A NOISE QUESTION. WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS GOING TO BE LIKE OUT THERE? YOU’VE OBVIOUSLY GONE THROUGH THIS BEFORE. HOW WOULD YOU RATE ETH WAYS IT IS BEING PIPED IN THIS WEEK? >> IT IS DEFINITELY GOING TO BE LOUD. WE HAVE PRACTICED WITH IT THROUGHOUTHE T WEEK, SO WE ARE ANTICIPATING A VERY LOUD CROWD. IT IS GOING TO BE TOUGH FOR US TO COMMUNICATE. OBVIOUSLY THE FANS ARE GOING TO BE EXCITED, JUST LIKE OUR FANS WILL BE EXCITED, SO WE WILL HAVE TO BE READY TO BE VERY EFFICIENT WITH OUR NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. >> HEY JOE. BRIAN CALLAHAN EARLY THIS WEEK SAID THAT E ONY YOU WILL LEARN TO THROW THE BALL AWAY AND GIVE YOURSELF UP BEFORE THE SACK, BUT THAT DAY IS NOT TODAY. WHY IS IT NOT THAT DAY STJU YET, AND DO YOU THINK IT SENDS A MESSAGE THAT YOU ARE WLIIL TO TAKE ALL THESE HITS? >> I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT. I JUST TRY TO GIVE MY TEAM THE BEST CHANCE TO WIN, THROUGH THE BALL AWAY, AND EXTEND THE PLAY AND I FEEL LIKE I HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO. I TNK IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE SITUATION. I’M NOT SCARED TO TAKE HS,IT BUT OBVIOUSLY THE LESS YOU TAKE, THE BETTER FOR YOUR CAREER. >> DO YOU THINK EVERY TIME YOU GET UP, IT SENDS A MESSAGE TO YOUR DEFENSE AND YOUR TEAMMATES? >> I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT. MAYBE IT DOES. IT IS PROBABLY A BETTER QUESTION FOR THEM. I JUST GET UP AND PLAY THE NEXT PLAY. THAT IS WHAT FOOTBALL IS. >> NTEX QUESTION IS CALEB. GO AHEAD AND UNMUTE YOUR LINE, CALEB. OK, WE WILL GO TO DAVE. GO AHEAD. >> FOLLOW-UP TO THAT, YROU DAD WAS A DEFENSIVE COACH, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR FOR A BUNCH OF YEARS. YOUR TWO BROTHERS WERE DEFENSIVE PLAYERS. DO YOU PLAY WITH A DENEFSIVE MENTALITY? DO YOU LIKE THE PHYSICAL CONTACT PART OF FOOTBALL AS MUCH AS ANYTHING? >> AT ETH END OF THE DAY, THAT IS WHAT FOOTBALL IS. IT IS PHYSALIC, IT IS TOUGH, AND I THINK IS QUARTERBACK, YOU HAVE TO BE THAT WAY IF YOUAN WTO SUCCEED IN THIS LEAGUE. >> NEXT QUESTION IS JOE DENMAN. >> WE VEHA NOTICED YOUR MESSAGING AFTER SOME OF THESE PLAYOFF WINS WHEN YOU BEAT THE RAIDERS. YOU TALK ABOUT THIS BECOMING THE STDAAN. WHEN YOU BEAT THE TITANS, IT WAS NOT WHY NOT US, IT IS US. HOW IMPORTANT DO Y TOUHINK THOSE MESSAGES ARE FOR YOUR TEAM TO HAVE THAT BEFORE YOU PLAY? >> IS A QUARTERBACKIT, IS TO BE AN EXTENSION OF THE COACHING STAFF TO YOUUY GS COMING TO THE MEDIA, AND WAS IN THE LOCKER ROOM, JUST TO PORTRAY THE MESSAGE THAT A HEAD COACH WANTS TO PORTRAY THROUGHOUT THE TEAM, SO I ALWAYS TRY TO DO THAT. I DON’T ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, BUT WHEN I FEEL LIKE I HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS WORTH HEARING, I TRY TO SPEAK UP DAN SAY I PEACE, SO IF YOU START TO YSA TOO MUCH, GUYS KIND OF TUNE YOU OUT, SO I TRYO T PICK MY SPOTS. I TRY TO HAVE A MESSAGE NOT REALLY EVEDARYY, BUT ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK. >> WE WILL GIVE CALEB ANOTHER SHOT. >> YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUR EXCITEMENT THE NIGHT BEFORE THE GAME. AMI CURIOUS, WHEN YOU GET ON THE PLANE OR GET OFF THE BUS, OR WHEN YOU ARE SITTING IN YOUR HOTEL, WHEN DOES THAT EXCITEMENT START, AND WHAT IS THE NIGHT BEFORE A GAME LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? >> IT IS PREYTT RELAXING FOR ME UP UNTIL THAT TIME, WHEN I SRTTA TO GET MYSELF, WHAT I AM JUST BY MYSELF IN MY HOTEL ROOM. THEN I GO TO SLEEP AND THAT IS OVER WITH, AND IT IS GAME DAY AND THEN THE LIGHTS TURN .ON >> NEXT UPS I BEN. >> THE CONVERSATION FOR A LOT OF THE WEEK HAS BEEN ABOUT THE CROWD NOISE. WHATAS H BEEN YOUR OUTLOOKN O THAT, PLAYING SOME OF THESE LOUD STADIUMS? >> IT IS ALWAYS A TOPIC ON THE ROAD IN THE PLAYOFFS. WE H AAD COUPLE OF MISTAKES, BUT I THINK WE HAD A GOOD WEEK OF PRACTICE WITHIN THAT NOISE, SO I THINK WE ARE GOING TO BE MORE WELL-PREPARED FOR IT. >> YOU AND TB BOTH SAID YOU GUYS PLAYED IN THE SEC COMES OF THE CROWD NOE ISOUSHLD NOT BE A FACTOR. DEEP EXPECT KANSAS CITY FANS TO MAYBE RAMP UP THE INTENSITY TO CHANGE THOSE MINDS? >> I THINK THE CROWD NOISE WILL ALWAYS BE A FACTOR. IT IS JUST WHETHER YOU ARE EFFICIENT IN YOUR NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION AND HOW WILL YOU HANDLE IT. WE HAVE ENBE REALLY GOOD AT HANDLING IT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND WE ARE GOING TO LOOK TO CONTINUE THAT THIS WEEK. >> WE’REOI GNG TO GO OVER TO DAN. >> CONSIDERING THE SUCCESS YOU GUYS HAD IN GAME ONE, IT STANDS TO REASON THE CHIEFS ARE GOING TO MAKE MAJOR JUDGMENTS ON SUNDAY. HOW MUCH DO YOU TRY TO ANTICIPATE WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO, AND HOW MUCH DO Y JOUT REACT WHEN YOU GET OUT THERE AND SEE IT? >> A LITTLE OF BOTH. THE ENTIRE YEAR, TEAMS HAVE DONE SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN THEY HAVE DONE TO ALL THE OTHER TEAMS AGAINST US, SO WE HAVE OUR GAME PLAN AGAINST CERTAIN COVERAGES THATOU Y EXPECT, AND THEN YOU GET IN THE GAME AND YOU HAVE TO KE ADJUSTMENTS EVERY WEEK BECAUSE TEAMS TEND TO PLAY A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. WE WILL BE READY FOR WHATEVER THEY HAVE, AND I AM SURE THEY WILL HAVE A WRINKLE OR TWO FOR US THAT WE WILL HAVE TO ADJUST TO ON-THE-FLY. >> NEXT UP IS JOE. >> WE TALKED TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL COACH MASON EARLIER THIS WEEK, AND HE MENTIONED HOW MUCH NFU YOU HAVE IN BIG GAMES. HE SAID THE BIGGER THE GAME, THE MORE FUN JOE HAS. IS THIS THE BIGGEST GAME YOU HAVE PLAYED IN? WE KNOW YOU PLAYED IN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. >> AT THIS LEVEL, IT IS FOR SURE THE BIGGEST I HAVE PLAYED IN. I THINK IT IS TOUGH TO COMPARE COLLEGE GAMES AND NFL GAMES BECAUSE ATHE T TIME, THOSE ARE DO OR DIE SITUATIONS, AND THEN YOU LOOK BACK AND YOU GOT PAST THOSE, NOW YOU ARE IN THE NFL AND IT IS A BIGGER PLATFORM AND ALL THAT. SO I THINK IT IS KIND OF TOUGH TO COMPARE. BUT THESE ARE THE REASON THAT I PLAY FOOTBALL. I PLAY TO GET TO THESE MOMTSEN, TO MAKE PLAYS AND TICKET GET OF MY OPPORTUNITIES. I WORK REALLY HARD FOR THESE MOMENTS, AND IF I WORKED REALLY HARD AND NEVER GOT TO A POSITION THAT I AM IN RIGHT NOW, THE CHANCE TO GO TO THE SERUP BOWL, I THINK THAT WOULD BE TOUGH FOR ME TO MENTALLY WORK AS HARD AS I DO EACH WKEE TO GO 500 EVERY YEAR NBA PLAYOFF TEAM. I WORK SO HARD SO I CAN GET TO THESE MOMENTS AND PLAY WELL. >> T LHEAST QUESTION TODAY GOES TO DAVE. >> ALL YREA LONG, A BIG FOCUS WAS GETTING OFF TO A GDOO START, SCORING FIRST, THAT SORT OF THING. FOR THE SEASON, IT WAS YOUR LOWEST SCORING QUARTER. IN THE PLAYOFFS, THE FIRST QUARTER IT HIGHEST SCORING QUARTER FOR THE TEAM. HAS THATEE BN A BIG FOCUS? WHY DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE HAD SUCCSES SCORING FIRST IN THE PLAYOFFS? >> IIST TOUGH TO DO. WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IT AND WE HAVE BEEN A GREAT SECOND HALF TEAM, BUT YOU ARE REALLY JUST DROPPING BACK AND THROWING THE BALL EVERY SNAP, AND IT PUTS THE OFFENSIVE LINE A TOUGH SITUATION. SO WHEN YOU GET OUT TO A LEAD, IT KIND OF OPENS UP YOUR ENTIRE PLAYBOOK, SO WE CAN GET DOWN 14-0 LIKE WE DID LAST TIME. WE HAVE TWO ON THE BALL AND TAKE CONTROL OF THE GAME.ALL AND TAKE >> THANK YOU VERY MU.CH GOOD LUCK ON SUNDAY. APPRECIATE IT. ASHLEY: YOU HAVE BEEN WATCHING BENGALS COURT ABOUT JOE BURROW TAKING QUESTIONS AT OF THE BIGGEST GAMEF O HIS CAREER, LESS THAN TWO DAYS FROM THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN KANSAS CITY. WE WILL HAVE LIVE COVERAGE IN KANSAS CITY THROUGHOUT THE DAY

'I play to get to these moments': Bengals QB Burrow ready to take on Chiefs in AFC Championship

Updated: 3:05 PM EST Jan 28, 2022

The Cincinnati Bengals are just days away from facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship and quarterback Joe Burrow says once he's on the field, he's ready to go.When asked if he's ever been nervous before a game Burrow said, "I wouldn't call it nervous. I would call it anxious excited. And it's not before the game, I would say the night before the game, when I'm thinking about all the possible situations, but once game time comes pregame, warm ups, you know, I'm loose, confident and ready to go."When asked if there was a moment he realized they could be postseason champions, Burrow looked back on the team's win against the Ravens. "When we went into Baltimore, I thought we could be a really good team, that we could win our division and then, you know, we just kept getting better and better. And I think we can beat anybody, anybody in the league. And I think we've proven that," Burrow said.When it comes to the level of quarterbacking it's going to take to win the conference this year, Burrow said it needs to be "near perfect.""Near perfect. I think, you know, every week of the playoffs have has proven that. And Patrick Mahomes has been near perfect for four years, however many years he's been starting ... For me, you know, it's not just a quarterback-driven game. You know, it's a team game, but I think wins and losses usually come down to how each quarterback plays," Burrow said. Burrow said he's willing to take hits if it means extending the play. "I just try to get my team the best chance to win. Try to make plays out there, throw the ball away when I feel like the ball needs to be thrown away, and I try to extend the play when I feel like I have an opportunity to do so. So, you know, I think it just depends on on the situation. I'm not scared to take hits, but obviously, the less amount you can take the better for your career."Burrow was asked if he plays quarterback with a defensive player mentality."Yeah, I think that at the end of the day, that's what that's what football is. It's physical. It's tough. And I think as a quarterback, you have to be that way if you want to succeed in this league," Burrow said. When asked how important the quarterback's message is to the team ahead of the game, Burrow said, "I just I think as a quarterback, it's important to be an extension of the coaching staff to you guys, to the media, and with within the locker room just to you know portray the message that the head coach wants to portray throughout the team. And so I always try to do that and I don't always have something to say but you know when I feel like I have something that is worth hearing I try to speak up and say my piece and so you know I think if you start to say too much guys kind of tune you out and so I try to pick my spots here and there to really have a message."But when it comes down to it, Burrow said he's ready for Sunday and these moments are the reason he plays. "These (moments) are the reason that I play football, you know, I play to get to these moments, and to make plays and take advantage of my opportunities. I work really hard for these moments."

CINCINNATI —

The Cincinnati Bengals are just days away from facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship and quarterback Joe Burrow says once he's on the field, he's ready to go.

When asked if he's ever been nervous before a game Burrow said, "I wouldn't call it nervous. I would call it anxious excited. And it's not before the game, I would say the night before the game, when I'm thinking about all the possible situations, but once game time comes pregame, warm ups, you know, I'm loose, confident and ready to go."

When asked if there was a moment he realized they could be postseason champions, Burrow looked back on the team's win against the Ravens.

"When we went into Baltimore, I thought we could be a really good team, that we could win our division and then, you know, we just kept getting better and better. And I think we can beat anybody, anybody in the league. And I think we've proven that," Burrow said.

When it comes to the level of quarterbacking it's going to take to win the conference this year, Burrow said it needs to be "near perfect."

"Near perfect. I think, you know, every week of the playoffs have has proven that. And Patrick Mahomes has been near perfect for four years, however many years he's been starting ... For me, you know, it's not just a quarterback-driven game. You know, it's a team game, but I think wins and losses usually come down to how each quarterback plays," Burrow said.

Burrow said he's willing to take hits if it means extending the play.

"I just try to get my team the best chance to win. Try to make plays out there, throw the ball away when I feel like the ball needs to be thrown away, and I try to extend the play when I feel like I have an opportunity to do so. So, you know, I think it just depends on on the situation. I'm not scared to take hits, but obviously, the less amount you can take the better for your career."

Burrow was asked if he plays quarterback with a defensive player mentality.

"Yeah, I think that at the end of the day, that's what that's what football is. It's physical. It's tough. And I think as a quarterback, you have to be that way if you want to succeed in this league," Burrow said.

When asked how important the quarterback's message is to the team ahead of the game, Burrow said, "I just I think as a quarterback, it's important to be an extension of the coaching staff to you guys, to the media, and with within the locker room just to you know portray the message that the head coach wants to portray throughout the team. And so I always try to do that and I don't always have something to say but you know when I feel like I have something that is worth hearing I try to speak up and say my piece and so you know I think if you start to say too much guys kind of tune you out and so I try to pick my spots here and there to really have a message."

But when it comes down to it, Burrow said he's ready for Sunday and these moments are the reason he plays.

"These (moments) are the reason that I play football, you know, I play to get to these moments, and to make plays and take advantage of my opportunities. I work really hard for these moments."