Bears HC Ben Johnson Gives Strong Words on Bengals QB Joe Burrow

The Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears held a joint practice this week as both teams will play a preseason game on Aug. 22 at Paycor Stadium. While both sides are competing in these practices, there’s mutual respect between the two teams.

For the Bengals, it allows Joe Burrow to see another defense and get the connection down with everyone on the Cincinnati offense. While the Bears defense wanted to make it a challenging day of practice for the Bengals offense, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any level of respect.

On Aug. 20, Bears head coach Ben Johnson spoke to the media and shared his blunt thoughts on Burrow.

“Oh, shoot; this guy is like a surgeon back there,” Johnson told reporters before the Bears and Bengals joint practice. “From my perspective, at least, he’s got great pocket awareness. He can dissect defenses in a hurry. He recognizes coverages. He’s able to distribute the ball, and then he trusts the guys he’s got on the perimeter as well.

“We know the two guys on the outside. They’re probably the best duo in the business right now. When you look at it, he gives them a chance to make plays. This will be a great test for our defense right now with where we are and what we’re doing coverage-wise, to face an opponent like that.”

Moreover, Johnson noted that their QB coach, J. T. Barrett, who was a teammate of Burrow at Ohio State, shared the type of person the Bengals star is off the football field, along with how clinical he can be on it.

“It’s fun to talk to a guy like J.T. Barrett,” Johnson added. “He was teammates with Joe at Ohio State, so there’s some shared history there, and he speaks very highly of who Joe is as a person as well.”

Speaking of Burrow, he also spoke to the media on Aug. 20 and made headlines for his remarks. The Bengals QB noted that this 2026 season is now or never, which might be accurate as head coach Zach Taylor is probably on the hot seat and Cincinnati spent money this past offseason to improve the defense.

“I’m trying to put it out into the world; I’m trying to manifest it,” Burrow said (h/t Pro Football Talk). “I’m trying to show our guys the urgency that I have and that I want us to have as an organization to go and make it happen.

“You can keep pushing it down the road, or you can talk about it now and say, ‘This is the year.’ And I’m tired of saying, ‘Next year, next year, next year.’ This is it. Life is too short to keep pushing things down the road. I’m trying to instill some urgency and some intensity in everybody to go and be great every day and try to go make it happen.”

Last season, Burrow played 478 total snaps for the Bengals, leading to a 91.8 overall PFF grade. Injury limited Burrow’s time on the field, but he still recorded 1,809 passing yards and 17 touchdowns against five interceptions. Moreover, he registered 18 big-time throws and two turnover-worthy plays.

Like HEAVY's content?Be sure to follow us.

This article was originally published on HEAVY

The post Bears HC Ben Johnson Gives Strong Words on Bengals QB Joe Burrow appeared first on HEAVY.