Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) looks on during a press conference after at the IEL Indoor Facility in Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Credit: The Enquirer

Even with Joe Burrow having bounced back from the wrist injury that derailed his 2023 season, the Cincinnati Bengals find themselves 0-3 to open the 2024 campaign.

But while it’s the Bengals defense that has taken the bulk of the blame for Cincinnati’s 38-33 loss to the Washington Commanders on Monday night, one Hall of Fame player directed his ire at the team’s starting quarterback.

“He played well, not well enough to win,” Shannon Sharpe said of Burrow on Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s First Take.

Sharpe’s statement — which came in agreement with previous comments made by former NFL defensive lineman Chris Canty — drew an immediate disagreement from Marcus Spears.

“I’m gonna be honest. I don’t want to live in a world where a quarterback throws for 330 and three touchdowns with no turnovers and we’re gonna say he didn’t do enough to win a football game,” a clearly disappointed Spears said. “I don’t want to live in that world in the NFL.”

“I do!” Sharpe responded. “You live in a world where they make $55 million. Why do they make so much if so much isn’t expected of them?”

People were interested in these podcasts
Play Episode
66min
The Play-By-Play
Fox Sports lawsuit, WWE on Netflix, Jason Kelce's late night debut
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/playbyplay for 10% off your first month and get on your way to being your best self.Fox Sports is rocked with a sexual battery and discrimination lawsuit. "WWE Raw" makes its long-awaited debut on Netflix. Jason Kelce's late night show was a dud. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more with AA's Drew Lerner on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-1:02: Jerry Jones acting-2:56: Fox Sports lawsuit-26:46: “WWE Raw” Netflix debut-47:27: “They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce” debut-58:12: Amazon hires Dirk Nowitzki-1:00:15: Jalen Rose calling first NBC game-1:03:25: Amazon hires Blake GriffinYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
A mega Tom Brady NFL announcing check in with Awful Announcing's Sean Keeley
Tom Brady is 13 weeks in his NFL broadcasting career, and did his first Thanksgiving game. How is Brady doing? Has he improved? How long will he continue broadcasting? Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod, Brendon Kleen, and Sean Keeley discuss these topics and more on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-1:18: Tom Brady on Thanksgiving Fox broadcast-30:28: Azeez Al-Shaair’s hit on Trevor Lawrence-40:03: Ryan Day and Ohio State-50:44: Matt Eberflus and the Chicago Bears-57:23: Stugotz’s new book-59:32: Kai Cenat’s Twitch subathon-1:03:58: Fran BrownYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Looking back at 2024 in sports media, Awfulies winners with Sean Keeley
As 2024 closes, we take a look back at the year in sports media with our year-end awards, The Awfulies. Awful Announcing's Sean Keeley, who compiled this year's results, talks about some of the winners with Play-By-Play hosts Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen.Time Stamps:-:54: Remembering 2024 in sports media-7:33 Sports Media Person of the Year - Tom Brady-12:28: Best Moment of 2024 - Pat McAfee calling Norby Williamson a “rat”/Jeff Darlington covering Scottie Scheffler’s arrest-17:50: Best Play-By-Play Announcer - Kevin Harlan-22:01: Best Studio Analyst - Charles Barkley-24:06: Best Debator - Chris Russo-27:49: Best Acquisition - Nick Saban-31:43: Best Debate Show - “First Things First”-38:06: Best Sports Documentary - “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants”-40:16: Best Broadcast Innovation - Peacock Gold Zone-42:48: Recapping the rest of the winnersYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Loving Dan Hurley, Shohei Ohtani 'Face of MLB,' Gen Z and sports
Dan Hurley rubs many the wrong way, so is that why he's great for college basketball? Is Shohei Ohtani the face of Major League Baseball. Are the lack of Cinderellas really what's destroying college basketball. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more, including an in-depth discussion with Morning Consult's Ellyn Briggs on how Gen Z consumes sports, on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-1:04: No Cinderellas in March Madness-21:11: Ellyn Briggs joins the show-21:39: Best way to summarize how Gen Z consumes sports-24:57: Gen Z having a strong connection to athletes, going to games-29:49: NIL and Gen Z-31:22: Sports going away from a made-for-TV product?-34:17: Gen Z and Gen-Alpha sports participation-37:13: Public reaction to Jackie Robinson article temporarily taken down-42:30: Women’s sports fans supporting activism among players-46:33: LIV Golf/Saudi Arabia and sportswashing-50:20: What has to happen for a new league to work in 2025?-54:48: Dan Hurley-57:48: Shohei Ohtani as the “Face of MLB”You can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While the Bengals didn’t win, it would be tough to point to Burrow as one of the primary reasons why. To Spears’ point, the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner completed 76.3 percent of his passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns, while it was Cincinnati’s defense that allowed 38 points in the defeat.

Still, considering his salary, Sharpe believes that it’s not unrealistic that Burrow should be expected to be “Superman” when he’s on the field. Meanwhile, Spears is having a hard time understanding why the Bengals’ defensive blunders should take away from what he believes was a superhero-like performance from the former LSU star.

“WHEN THE HELL IS THREE TOUCHDOWNS FOR 330 NOT SUPERMAN?!” Spears erupted. “Shay, he needed six touchdowns?”

[Awful Announcing]

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.