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Joe Burrow Calls 2026 Bengals “Now-or-Never” Championship Year

8/21/2026

24 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Joe Burrow says the Bengals will treat the 2026 season as a now-or-never championship year.
The Bengals missed the NFL playoffs in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Cincinnati’s defense ranked third-from-last in scoring, allowing 28.9 points per game in 2025.
The team added defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook.

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Story summary

Joe Burrow says the Bengals will treat the 2026 season as a now-or-never championship year.
The Bengals missed the NFL playoffs in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Cincinnati’s defense ranked third-from-last in scoring, allowing 28.9 points per game in 2025.
The team added defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook.