CINCINNATI — The Whitworth family is back in Cincinnati. A broadcaster with Thursday Night Football, Andrew Whitworth flew into the Queen City with his entire family over the weekend — marking the first time his wife, Melissa, and children had returned since Whitworth signed with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017.
"We talk about Cincinnati all the time," Melissa Whitworth said. "We loved our home here, we loved our friends here, we just loved the community and the people — I loved the Kroger. I mean, there are just so many things that I missed about Cincinnati and I wanted to see how much (the kids) would remember."
Though they hadn't been back in years, the Whitworths said they still consider Cincinnati a home. And while Whitworth won a Super Bowl with the Rams, his family still has love for the team that drafted him. In fact, his son wanted to wear a Ja'Marr Chase jersey to Super Bowl LVI.
"Drew was like, 'But mom, can I wear my Ja'Marr Chase jersey under my Whitworth jersey?'" Melissa Whitworth said. "Just in case we lost, he was gonna rip off the Whitworth jersey and look really smart."
She, of course, said no.
Chase isn't the only Bengals player they like. Whitworth and quarterback Joe Burrow struck up a friendship when Burrow was rehabbing his torn ACL in LA. Both former LSU Tigers, Burrow said he would go to Whitworth's house and watch games on Sundays.
"We love Joe Burrow," Melissa Whitworth said. "We're huge Joe Burrow fans — we have a Joe Burrow fathead on our wall that he signed, we have Joe Burrow jerseys. ... He's gonna be great for this city because he loves it, it really means something to him."
Whitworth said the family has already visited Burrow since arriving in town.
"He's gonna be what this league's gonna be all about for years to come," Whitworth said. "He's a really special football player and a special young man, so it'll be fun to get to watch his journey and watch where he goes from where he is right now."
While Burrow enjoyed success in his second year in the league, it has been a difficult start to the season for the Bengals offense. The team is 1-2 after a win over the New York Jets in Week 3. Burrow has been sacked 15 times so far — causing many to question the team's newly-renovated offensive line.
Whitworth, a four-time Pro Bowler who spent most of his career as a left tackle, said fans can't put everything on the o-line.
"The pass game sacks and quarterback hits, sure there's times where guys get beat, that's going to happen in football, but most of the time it involves all 11," Whitworth said. "Are receivers running the correct routes? Are they getting open within the timing and rhythm of football plays? Is Joe reading coverages in the speed and manner that he needs to? There's really an all-11 emphasis when you talk about the passing game."
And what does he have to say to fans who are freaking out after the first three weeks? "The only difference in this year and last year is one field goal at the end of the game.
"Last season, you started 1-1, you kicked the field goal at the last second of overtime to win a game and you played really bad against the Chicago Bears and got beat in Week 2," Whitworth said. "You only had three less sacks, you still (had) double-digit sacks given up in the first two weeks, you still had a lot of turnovers in the first two weeks, and you went to the Super Bowl. ... They're going to need to go rattle off four or five, six wins in a row and find a way to create turnovers on defense and use those receivers and skill players they have to get explosive plays. They did it last season. It was no different. And they still have an opportunity to do that right now. So everything they have is still in front of it."
The Bengals are facing a 3-0 Miami Dolphins team for Thursday Night Football. Whitworth said this game will be a great opportunity for the team to show who they are.
"It sets up as a great opportunity for the Cincinnati Bengals to really kind of say, 'Hey, wait a minute — we started 0-2, you guys started to jump off the bandwagon, here's our chance to kind of stake our claim to where we're at in the season.'"
The Cincinnati-Miami Thursday Night Football game will air on WCPO 9. Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m.. WCPO 9 News will have a one-hour pregame and one-hour postgame show as well.
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