Bears Coach Ben Johnson Gives Massive Praise to Bengals QB Joe Burrow

The Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears competed in a joint practice Thursday afternoon, preparing for their preseason game at Paycor Stadium this weekend. While that game will obviously draw a lot of eyeballs, this practice is the real show for Bengals fans, since starters aren't expected to play in the Bengals’ second preseason game.

Dexter Lawrence stole the show on Thursday with a huge day, getting pressure on Caleb Williams and even deflecting a pass that he also ended up intercepting for a turnover. Offensive lineman Dalton Risner told reporters after the practice that the Bears offensive line could finally realize what he and the rest of Cincinnati’s offensive line have been going through all camp. 

However, Thursday may have been the best day of all of training camp for the Bengals offense, led by Joe Burrow. According to play-by-play commentator Dan Hoard, Burrow went 16-for-25 with two short touchdown passes in the red zone to both Mike Gesicki and Tee Higgins. He delivered multiple 15+ yard passes to Tee Higgins, who bounced back after a practice in which he had a couple of drops.

Bears head coach Ben Johnson was extremely complimentary of Burrow after practice, describing his game as “surgical” due to his awareness in the pocket and ability to identify defenses. Johnson also said Burrow has the best wide receiver duo in the NFL with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and does a great job distributing the ball to maximize his offense's talent. 

Johnson also mentioned that Burrow is a former teammate of current Chicago quarterbacks coach JT Barrett, who vouched for him. Burrow told reporters after practice that he and Barrett are still great friends, and that Barrett was the teammate he learned the most from about how to lead and play quarterback. 

"He's like a surgeon back there with great pocket awareness who can dissect defenses in a hurry, recognize coverages, distribute the ball, and trust his guys on the perimeter; they've probably got the best receiving duo in the business. This is a great test for where our defense is coverage-wise, but talking to J.T. Barrett, who was teammates with Joe at Ohio State, he speaks very highly of who Joe is as a person as well."  

Johnson's compliment to Burrow is similar to Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's after a game in the 2024 season. He said that, besides his quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, Burrow is the best in the business. 

Both Johnson, offensively, and Spagnuolo, defensively, are considered two of the best minds at what they do in the NFL. They know what the best looks like, and they both think Burrow is up there. 

The offense having a good day against the Bears in practice is what Bengals fans wanted to hear as the day's dominant takeaway. Their struggles installing their new under-center offense have led some to pause on Cincinnati. Thursday is a big step in silencing some of those doubters.