Bengals Legend Willie Anderson Calls Joe Burrow Criticism 'Totally Ridiculous'

Bengals legend Willie Anderson is racing to Joe Burrow's defense ... telling TMZ Sports anyone who's blaming Cincinnati's early season woes on the quarterback is flat-out wrong.

The former offensive lineman snapped on the JB haters during an interview with us on Tuesday -- some 24 hours after the Bengals fell to 0-3 with a "Monday Night Football" loss to the Commanders.

"That's ridiculous, bro," Anderson told us of the Burrow criticism. "Like, they're in these games because of him. It's just totally ridiculous."

Of course, there were many online who disagreed ... as fans jetted to social media after the 38-33 L to say the 27-year-old signal-caller wasn't doing enough to secure victories. Even former Super Bowl champion Chris Canty stated on ESPN Radio that Burrow simply needed to do more.

But Anderson clearly doesn't think the ex-LSU star is the problem at all ... explaining injuries on the team's defense -- as well as a lack of pass rush -- are the real issues.

"To watch the game [Monday] night," he said, "and to say that any blame should be put on Joe Burrow [Monday] night when you score 30-something points -- it's just plain ridiculous."

The Bengals will get a shot to turn it around in just a few days -- they play the Panthers on Sunday morning -- and, according to Anderson, Burrow's one of the biggest reasons fans should be optimistic a switch will be flipped soon.