CINCINNATI -- Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow sat, stared and brooded while on the sideline during Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
At various points throughout the season, Burrow has made his unhappiness plenty visible as Cincinnati failed to crack the .500 mark by the halfway point. But in this case, Burrow couldn't have had a much better day. The Bengals, in what he said was a "must-win" contest, thumped the Raiders 41-24, and Burrow became the first player in franchise history to have multiple games of five or more passing touchdowns in a single season, according to ESPN Research.
That wasn't enough to make him content. The offense stalled out in the third quarter. A bubble screen intended for wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. And given that the Bengals still have a losing record (4-5) heading into Week 10, Sunday's outing wasn't anything to smile about.
"How this season has gone, knowing what's ahead of us, knowing what we're going to have to do to get back into this, one win isn't going to make or break our season," Burrow said. "I'm going to strive for perfection every day and every game.
"So, until that happens, what's there to be happy about?"
Broadcast cameras caught Burrow's sour disposition all the way up until the final seconds of the much-needed victory. Had the Bengals lost, they would fallen even further behind the teams in playoff contention, including the Baltimore Ravens (6-3), the fellow AFC North foe that Cincinnati will face on the road Thursday.
The Raiders (2-7), already struggling coming into the weekend, experienced even more problems Sunday when five players suffered ankle injuries, something coach Antonio Pierce said he had never seen before.
Cincinnati still does not have a win against a team with a winning record. Entering Week 10, the Bengals have the worst strength of victory of all AFC teams. The combined winning percentage of the teams Cincinnati has beaten is .222.
Asked whether Sunday's effort was good enough to beat a better team, Burrow took several seconds before answering.
"I don't know about that," Burrow said. "It was good enough today."
Cincinnati's offense performed well even though it was without starting wide receiver Tee Higgins (quadricep) and key running back Zack Moss (neck). Both were inactive for Sunday's game.
The Bengals also made rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton inactive. Throughout the week, Burton was projected to have a significant role against the Raiders with Higgins doubtful to play. But he was a healthy scratch after he was absent from Saturday's walk-through, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
After the game, coach Zac Taylor was supportive of Burton but said it was a "necessary step" for the third-round draft pick out of Alabama. Taylor said there will be no further disciplinary action for Burton.
"I can sit here and say it was a difficult decision to make him inactive, but it was absolutely the right decision with all the information we had," Taylor said. "And he's a guy who's going to have, I think, a really good career here, and we're going to support him."
Burrow praised the players who stepped up in Higgins' and Burton's absences. Mike Gesicki became the first Bengals tight end to have 100 or more receiving yards and catch two touchdowns since Tyler Eifert accomplished the feat in 2015, also against the Raiders. Eifert, who last played for the Bengals in 2019, was in attendance Sunday and participated in the team's pregame ceremonies.
Cincinnati's defense also had a strong outing. Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson had a career-high four sacks. He forced one of Las Vegas' two fumbles that Cincinnati recovered.
After the game, veteran defensive end Sam Hubbard echoed what Burrow said about not being content.
"If we want to do anything with this season, we had to win this game," Hubbard said.
In a year in which many things have not gone Cincinnati's way, the Bengals had plenty to be happy about. But Burrow had other things on his mind.
"I'm not just going to ignore the bad and dwell on the great that we did today," Burrow said. "I don't think that's a recipe for improvement. I don't think that's a recipe for getting better."