Joe Burrow is buying the hype around ascending Bengals starter on the other side of the ball

 Posted December 25, 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals’ defense has been relatively better since Joe Burrow’s return from his turf toe injury. Cincinnati ranked dead-last in EPA/play allowed and success rate allowed during the first 12 weeks of the season. Since Week 13 when Burrow took the field, the unit ranks 11th and 14th, respectively, and has given the Bengals more chances at victory.

Such improvement has not been lost on the star quarterback.

“Yeah, it’s been fun to watch them really take ownership of everything that’s happening and improve and go and play really well in spots,” Burrow told reporters Wednesday. He even gave a shoutout to a player who’s finally taking the next steps he’s needed to take.

Joe Burrow heaps praise on Myles Murphy’s progression

The first player Burrow highlighted regarding the defense’s recent jump was third-year defensive end Myles Murphy, who’s improved his pass-rushing and run-stopping production by a large margin this season.

“I think Myles Murphy has really shown a lot the last couple weeks,” Burrow said. “I don’t know anything about the scheme or what his responsibility was on each play. I just see him making plays and impacting the game in a lot of different ways. You can say that for a lot of guys. Is that a lot of young guys that are starting to step up that way. So that’s exciting to see.”

Murphy, the Bengals’ first-round pick from the 2023 NFL Draft has improved in all facets this season. He played 13 games in 2024 after suffering a knee injury in training camp and managed a 10.2% pass rush win rate. He’s upped that percentage to 11.6% through 15 this season. He’s also mustered 36 pressures and 4.5 sacks on 342 pass rushing snaps. He only generated 20 pressures on 215 snaps last year and couldn’t finish at the QB once.

There’s been a jump against the run as well. Murphy had a run stop percentage of 4.4% last year and is up to 6.5% in 2025. His increase in opportunity has led to an increase in production, which is exactly what a team needs to see in one of its youngest players. Murphy will turn 24 years old the weekend of Cincinnati’s season finale against the Cleveland Browns.

Getting a shout from Burrow in a presser means you’re doing something right, but Murphy has been on this track for several weeks going back to his breakout showing against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11. He’s stacked quality outing on top of quality outing since, and is one of the few Bengals players with true momentum with the offseason on the horizon.