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Joe Burrow: This is my standard

The Bengals have come on.

After starting 0-2 for the second year in a row, Cincinnati has now won four of its last five to stand at 4-3 following Sunday’s 31-17 victory over the 49ers.

Quarterback Joe Burrow dealt with a calf injury to begin the year but now looks fresh and healthy, especially after a bye week to rest. He seemed like he was at least close to 100 percent, evading San Francisco pass rushers to make plays in and out of the pocket on Sunday.

While it looked like Burrow was going to be sacked early on a third-and-10 play, he instead was somehow able to get away from the rush and find Tee Higgins for a first down.

“Really, that was athleticism, acceleration, explosiveness, and those were really a big focus of mine in the offseason,” Burrow said in his postgame press conference. “I just haven’t really been able to show that too much, so it was nice to have that hard work pay off.”

Burrow finished the game 23-of-28 for 283 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His completion rate of 87.5 percent was the highest of his career.

“I was able to put the ball — for the most part all day — in the right spot, and spot that I was trying to,” Burrow said. “That’s what I expect out of myself. My footwork, I think a lot about and my mechanics. And so when I’m not that, it’s disappointing. And so this is my standard.

“I think my mechanics have cleaned up over the last couple weeks, and then also, with my calf feeling better, I feel more comfortable extending plays instead of maybe throwing the ball away in those same situations that I had in the first couple weeks. And so I think it’s a combination of a couple things.”

The Bengals are still a game and a half behind Baltimore for the division lead in the AFC North. But with a big game against Buffalo coming in Week 9 on Sunday Night Football, Cincinnati is poised to start another run toward the postseason.

“Yeah, we needed this one,” Burrow said. “So, big win, but it was just one. We get a lot of football left to be played, so we’re going to enjoy this one for a day and get right back to it.”