The Cincinnati Bengals may have lost yet another game yesterday, something to which they have become all too accustomed in the past half-decade, the loss that they suffered this Sunday was far bigger than a simple imbalance on the scoreboard breaking against them.
They lost their quarterback, Joe Burrow, for the remainder of the season with what has initially been reported as a torn ACL, potentially with further complications as well, such as an MCL injury. He suffered the injury during yesterday’s loss to the Washington Football Team, taking a low hit standing in the pocket from the shadow of his own goal line getting the ball out.
Thanks for all the love. Can’t get rid of me that easy. See ya next year✊
— Joey Burrow (@JoeyB) November 22, 2020
Prior to the injury, Burrow completed 22 of 34 pass attempts for 203 yards and threw one touchdown pass to A.J. Green. The injury occurred on 3rd and 2 from the Bengals’ 10-yard line and was incomplete. At the time, Cincinnati had a 9-7 lead with more than 25 minutes left in the game.
For anybody who might possibly not be aware, Burrow was the first-overall pick by the Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft, taken after he led LSU to one of the greatest college football seasons of all time, both as a team and for himself individually, and he helped get himself and four of his teammates drafted in the first round, including the Baltimore Ravens’ Patrick Queen.
He will have finished his rookie season completing 264 of 404 pass attempts for 2688 yards with 13 touchdowns to five interceptions, posting a quarterback rating of 89.8. He also rushed for three touchdowns, and at two wins and a tie, technically won more games than the Bengals did last year when they drafted him, going 2-14.
While they didn’t get him many wins, and admittedly he wasn’t raining touchdowns upon the NFL, it is undeniable that Burrow showed tons of promise during his rookie season, showing in convincing fashion that he has both the talent and the makeup to be a franchise quarterback.
It didn’t help that they had been playing musical chairs at the offensive line for most of the season and that their Pro Bowl running back, Joe Mixon, had been unavailable to him about as much as he was available. Their biggest free agent acquisitions, cornerback Trae Waynes and nose tackle D.J. Reader, hardly played this year due to injuries.
The future remains bright for Burrow and the Bengals provided that they can get healthy and surround their young quarterback with the right talent and guidance and don’t sabotage him. As a Steelers fan, I’m not entirely thrilled about this. But as a football fan, he is easy to root for—so long as it doesn’t come at Pittsburgh’s expense.
