There’s only one man with the power to drag Bengals fans out of the depths of the despair of another potentially doomed season, and that man was a full participant in practice this week.
Joe Burrow took to the field this week and reportedly looked very good doing so. It didn’t go unnoticed by those around him. Teammate Tee Higgins had a lot of high praise for his quarterback and his accuracy while working back:
“Joe’s been looking outstanding, man,”
“He’s slinging it deep, short routes. Everything’s been pretty good.”
While it’s only been a few practices, just seeing Joe Burrow throw and run has to be uplifting to his teammates and fans alike, who have suffered through quite the roller coaster of emotions while watching backups Jake Browning and Joe Flacco navigate the season in his absence. The Browning saga was a painful one, and although Joe Flacco gave his all, even he could not overcome the millstone that is the Bengals defense. And last week his injury showed through in a rough performance against Pittsburgh even though he fought through it like seasoned veteran that he is.
This week has been a very revealing one in terms of Burrow’s progress to potentially starting this week against the Patriots. He was a full participant in practices on Wednesday and Thursday and participated in several drills. On Friday, though, Zac Taylor still wasn’t completely ready to commit to a Burrow return on Sunday;
“He’s done everything he can to try to put himself and get ready to go. Now I have to make a decision on what we do.”
The harsh calculus of this season is plain, though, and the numbers say that it is quickly slipping away. But the question that Zac Taylor must certainly be asking himself is whether Joe Burrow can save it? And if he can’t, should the team even try to put his body at further risk? Those are questions that only Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor can answer, and they alone must weigh the risks. But we all know the competitor that our franchise quarterback is. If this team was 0-10, that man would likely crawl through broken glass to get back onto the field and help his team, even if for some reason Zac might want to hold him back.
But let’s be honest, Taylor must understand what is at stake, and that even with the Bengals’ proclivity to hang on to struggling coaches, his window to remain with this team is closing. Joe Burrow taking the field might not just save the Bengals, but would have the potential to salvage his coach’s job if things go right.
As of now, Burrow is officially listed as probable for Sunday’s game. The team has until four p.m. on Saturday to activate him off of the injured reserve. It’s probably a decision that will come down to the wire and it will have supporters watching the internet like hawks for any scrap of news.
And that’s really the uplifting thing about this whole situation, the hope that Joe’s return brings. After the Steelers loss, the outlook for this team was as bleak as it’s been all year. Yes, we all know that Joe Burrow can’t play defense, and that football isn’t a one man game. But you’ll forgive the optimists among us that will still relish watching a quarterback of his talent take the field and give every ounce of effort he has to drag his team across the finish line.
And they will need all the help they can get this week. The Patriots are 9-2 and have one of the best offenses in the league. TreVeyon Henderson wracked up another two rushing touchdowns last week on the ground, and he is having a breakout season. Drake Maye has over 2,800 yards passing and 20 touchdowns to only five interceptions. They have the potential to run up and down the field on Al Golden’s boys and things could get extremely ugly.
But those mountains get a little easier to potentially traverse if number 9 is taking the snaps for Cincinnati. He has built a career being the X-factor in games and only a fool would count him out if he starts this week.
Sadly, any return for Burrow is made all the more difficult because of the suspension of Ja’Marr Chase for his actions last week. If it is Burrow’s first start since his injury he is going to have to fight his way back without his best receiver. It was simply a bad time for Chase to make a bad decision, and the Bengals may pay the price this week. In terms of other injury news, Trey Hendrickson will miss another week with his hip/pelvis issues. And as previously reported, Shemar Stewart is on the injured reserve himself for the next few weeks.
