I am sick.
Legitimately sick. The kind of sick where you want to shove toothpicks under your toenails and kick a wall.
Per Ian Rapoport, Joe Burrow has suffered a grade 3 turf toe injury — one that requires surgery and will sideline him at least three months.
Brutal. Just absolutely brutal.
Here we are again: the Bengals without their star franchise quarterback. This marks Burrow’s third season-ending injury, and this time it’s the longest. To make matters worse, the Bengals are 2-0 for the first time since 2018, sitting in prime position to actually make a run. And now… gone.
So, who’s to blame?
Some say it’s the offensive line. Others point at the front office and their miserable history of drafting OL talent. Some blame Zac Taylor and the offensive scheme. Honestly? It’s a mixture of all three.
The Offensive Line Problem
Talent-wise, this is actually the best offensive line Joe Burrow has had since entering the league — which, yeah, isn’t saying much. Individually, the players are solid, but collectively it’s still shaky.
And then there’s the drafting. Since Burrow arrived in 2020, the Bengals have drafted eight offensive linemen. Only two currently start — and both were drafted in just the last two years. That says it all. You can’t whiff that many times at the single most important position group tasked with protecting your franchise QB.
This is what happens when you run the NFL’s smallest scouting department.
Poor evaluation. Poor drafting. Poor protection.
Scheme Makes It Worse
Then there’s Zac Taylor’s offense. When you live in shotgun, throw more than you run, and rarely call screens, defenses can just pin their ears back and tee off on the quarterback.
And here’s the kicker: look at the difference when Jake Browning is under center. Suddenly, the Bengals mix in more runs, more under-center looks, more screens. The offensive line looks better. The QB takes fewer hits.
I’m not saying Browning is better than Burrow — don’t twist my words. But the offense looks better suited to keep a quarterback upright when Browning is at the helm. With Burrow, it’s all shotgun, all dropbacks, all pressure.
The Painful Reality
And so here we are again. Another season wasted. Another year where Joe Burrow’s body breaks down because the Bengals can’t figure out how to protect him.
It’s Andrew Luck 2.0.
A generational talent being broken down year after year — and the worst part is, it didn’t have to be this way.
