The Cincinnati Bengals welcomed quarterback Joe Burrow on Thursday night. He missed the last nine games with a toe injury, which is a sprain of one or more ligaments in the toe that often occurs when cleats get stuck in artificial turf. It can be incredibly painful.
Burrow finished the game throwing 46 passes, tied for ninth in his career, so the Bengals clearly weren’t protecting him. He added three rushes and was captured once. In total, he was 24/46 for 261 yards and two touchdowns through the air. A 52% completion rate isn’t great, but you’ll get it if you win.
The Bengals entered the game 3-8 and well behind the field in the AFC playoff picture, but Burrow wasn’t going to sit back alone because the Bengals aren’t likely to make the Super Bowl.
“I’m never going to walk up to someone and say, ‘Yeah, I’m healthy, but I don’t think I should go out and play,’” Burrow said Tuesday. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I’m not going to live my life and play this sport afraid of something happening.”
The Bengals are 2.5 games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers for first place in the AFC North, but Cincy only has one team above .500 left on its schedule (the Bills in nine days), while the Steelers and Ravens meet twice in the last five weeks. The AFC North crown is far from anointed.