Joe Burrow will end his sixth season with the Bengals this weekend, and Ja’Marr Chase his fifth, as Cincinnati failed to make the playoffs with a 6–10 record. Despite going to the Super Bowl during the 2021 season, the Bengals have only reached the postseason once more since then.
It’s clear to both Burrow and Chase, and likely the rest of the squad, that something needs to change in the organization moving forward if the Bengals want to have more playoff success. While both players didn’t explicitly share what they believe needs to change, they were in agreement that they can’t remain doing the exact same things next season if they want to have success.
“We don’t want to be in the spot we are in now, so something’s got to change, whether it’s players we have continuing to improve and get better and play championship caliber football, or bringing in guys that will or whatever it may be. Obviously, something has to,” Burrow said on Wednesday.
Joe Burrow Knows the Bengals Need to Make Changes if They’re Going to Get Back Into Super Bowl Contention… pic.twitter.com/YWf3q1Yo1q
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) January 1, 2026
Chase reiterated what Burrow said when speaking to media on Thursday.
“I think some of the things are pretty obvious, what we need to change,” Chase said. “At the end of the day, I can’t really say or put an emphasis on what needs to be changed because that’s not my role. But it’s pretty obvious on what some of [the] issues [are] that need to be changed.”
Ja’Marr Chase agrees with Joe Burrow: the Bengals need to make changes after missing the playoffs for a third-straight season. He also said the changes are “pretty obvious” and can 100% be fixed in one offseason. pic.twitter.com/NR40W6odNs
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) January 1, 2026
For starters, Burrow will need to remain healthy in 2026 in order for the Bengals to have strong consistency at the quarterback position. His turf toe injury this year wasn’t helpful for giving Bengals the playoff push they desired. In order to keep him scratch-free in the future, Cincinnati should look to improve its offensive line to protect the quarterback.
The defense needs some major help, too. The Bengals allowed the most yards (6,275) and yards per gain (392.2) in the league this season so far. Specifically, the Bengals allowed the most rushing yards against them with 2,382 from opponents. Injuries on the defense didn’t help these numbers, but they also need to work on improving the positions.
We’ll see what moves the Bengals make this offseason. Otherwise, the team may have to start fearing a potential departure from Burrow.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase Reflect on Challenging Bengals Season: ‘Something’s Got to Change’.
