Joe Burrow predicts the Bengals will fight for championships throughout his career

Joe Burrow says the Cincinnati Bengals championship window should stay open for years.

“The window is my entire career,” the franchise quarterback said matter-of-factly after the Bengals clinched their second straight AFC North title.

His confidence is understandable given the offensive weapons available: Receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have rushed for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, becoming the first pair of Bengals wideouts to do so since Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh in 2007.

Joe Burrow and his team, the Cincinnati Bengals, are just one game away from the Super Bowl

The Bengals play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon, where victory is crucial

Though both have been limited by injuries this season, they’ve caught 18 touchdown passes combined and will see when

Cincinnati plays Sunday’s AFC championship game at Kansas City for the second straight year.

However, the economy can determine the future of star receivers.

Team owner Mike Brown acknowledged ahead of the season that finances were already being restructured to sign Burrow, the top overall pick in the 2020 draft, for an extension that will keep him in Cincinnati for years. Based on the contracts of other top quarterbacks, Burrow’s deal could put him in the region of $40 million to $50 million per season.

With prime years for Chase and Higgins, the notoriously thrifty Bengals could face some tough decisions.

Drafted fifth overall in 2021, the 22-year-old Chase — Burrow’s teammate at LSU during their 2019 national championship year — made a splash by piling up 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns to help lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl and winning the offensive rookie of the year.

“He’s one of the best,” Burrow said this week. “Anyone who watches tapes can see it. You can double it, you can muddy it, you can have a guy follow it – he’ll get his. You just have to touch him because he’s so dynamic with the ball in his hands.

The offensive coordinator said Brian Callahan said Chase’s development in his sophomore season allowed the Bengals to use him in a variety of places to keep the defense guessing. Chase ran from the backfield at times in last week’s divisional round win against Buffalo.

“Our job is to move him enough that they can’t pinpoint where he’s going to be,” Callahan said. “We’ll see what that looks like next Sunday. We’ve done a good job of protecting him from being double-collaborated, as much as teams want to double-collaborate him. They will have their work cut out for him to do that.’

Burrow spoke positively about his Bengals teammates ahead of the Chiefs game

Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (left) has impressed in a strong Bengals team for the past few weeks

Higgins, 23, is in his third season without Clemson. He led Cincinnati with 908 yards when he and Burrow were rookies in 2020.

“I just feel like the older we get the more we know, the more we learn about the game, the more we learn about defense,” Higgins said. “Then we got the vet with (Tyler Boyd) to teach me and Ja’Marr all the little things and I feel like that helps us tremendously.”

Like Burrow, Higgins has a four-year entry-level deal and will soon be eligible for an extension. Chase is in its second year of a similar rookie deal.

But that’s down the road. Nobody is looking beyond Sunday at the moment.

“It’s going to be tough, but I believe in the guys we have in our room,” Higgins said. “And I believe in the man who runs the offense – Joe, who puts the ball in all the right spots.”