Burrow says Bengals comedown will fuel future success

Joe Burrow is confident the Cincinnati Bengals will get more opportunities to win a first Super Bowl after they came up just short against the Los Angeles Rams. The Bengals led for almost the entire second half at SoFi Stadium, but Matthew Stafford's clutch touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp secured a 23-20 Rams win.

This was the Bengals' third appearance in the Super Bowl and their third defeat, although this young team ended a 31-year drought in terms of playoff wins. Burrow, therefore, expects the Bengals to kick on and find motivation in the pain of defeat.

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Defeat hurts - Burrow

"It hurts," he told a news conference. "We put a lot of work into going out there and executing and performing well, and it didn't turn out the way we wanted, so it's disappointing." He went on to add: "We're a young team, so you'd like to think we'll be back in this situation multiple times over the course of the next few years. We take this and let it fuel us for the rest of our careers."

The Bengals' inability to protect their quarterback was key to their loss, with Burrow taking a record-tying seven sacks – one of which left him hobbling. Burrow said his knee "feels good", however, and refused to blame his offensive line, focusing instead on his own display. "I was disappointed with my performance overall," he said. "I thought I could have played better, given us a better chance to win, but you live and you learn."

Burrow, who finished with 263 yards and a single touchdown on 22-of-33 passing, tried to focus on the positives, citing a quote from former quarterback Kurt Warner who had "let [defeat] sting too much and didn't celebrate what they accomplished".

"Obviously it stings, but we had a great year," Burrow said. "We didn't come out of this last game the way we wanted to, but we still have something to celebrate."