Cincy Jungle
Some things just don’t make any sense. But maybe they’re not supposed to.
When Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury on his left foot on Sept. 14, he was given a three-month timetable to return.
Ten weeks after surgery to repair the issue, Burrow is back.
But why? The Bengals have lost eight of 11 games this season and have gone 1-8 in Burrow’s absence. Cincinnati has better odds of receiving a top-five draft pick (16.1%) than making the playoffs (2.8%), according to ESPN Analytics.
“Everybody’s making it seem like it’s gonna be like this big like Dark Knight Rises return or something like that,” said running back Chase Brown. “It could be. I’m just excited for him to get football back. He loves football, and taking that away from him, for however long, it’s probably been hard.”
Cincinnati’s offense has fared pretty well since the Burrow injury. In the six games that Joe Flacco has started since being acquired from the Cleveland Browns, he has completed 154 of 250 passes (61.6%) for 1,636 yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions, and the Bengals have averaged 27.2 points per game.
Burrow, a two-time All-Pro, started every game for the Bengals last season and achieved career highs in passing yards (4,918) and touchdown passes (43). He finished fourth in MVP voting while winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award for the second time.
“He’s a great player,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “It’s exciting to have him back. Obviously, when you have one of the greatest players in the world coming back, there’s a boost.”
Injuries have played a huge part in Burrow’s career to date. As a rookie in 2020, he tore multiple ligaments in his left knee to end his season. He returned the following season to help guide the Bengals to their best finish in three decades and nearly led them to their first Super Bowl championship.
Then, in 2022, Burrow suffered a ruptured appendix during training camp. After receiving emergency surgery, he returned in time for the season opener. A year later, it was a strained calf that slowed him down. In 2023, he suffered torn ligaments in his throwing wrist.
Burrow won his first Comeback Player of the Year Award after the 2021 season, and he and Chad Pennington are the only players to win the award on two separate occasions.
“He’s a football player,” Taylor said. “That’s what he wants to do.”
Which comes as no surprise to Cincinnati’s starting center, Ted Karras, who once played with Tom Brady.
“Joe’s an all-time football freak,” Karras said. “I wouldn’t put anything past him. There’s an innate factor in great men when they overcome any type of adversity. He has that.”
