It was a good week for the AFC North overall. The only team to lose was the Baltimore Ravens, who were the only undefeated team through two weeks. Even the Cincinnati Bengals got off the mat last night with their first win of the year, avoiding an 0-3 start.
That victory came amid uncertainty over the status of QB Joe Burrow, who was questionable to play after aggravating a calf injury that had endangered his availability for the start of the season and which has affected his playing ability on the field.
One person who advocated for him to give his calf a rest is WR Ja’Marr Chase. He didn’t want Burrow out there in the season opener, instead preferring that he continue to rest it and get back to 100 percent in preparation for another postseason run. Burrow aggravated the injury last week, yet he was insistent on playing last night—to Chase’s benefit.
“I was like, ‘You got nuts, boy. I didn’t want you to play’”, the wide receiver said after the game, via Ben Baby of ESPN. The extra day, playing on Monday night, probably helped his chances of being able to play, but he is obviously not healthy right now. He admitted after the game to being conscious of not extending plays—the mechanism of injury to begin with.
But as mentioned, it worked out for Chase, who caught 12 passes on 15 targets for 141 yards during the game. He only had 10 catches for 70 yards in the first two games. Though he is still looking to get into the end zone for the first time this season, this game was obviously a step in the right direction, and far from a coincidence.
“Coming into this game, I was going to feed my guy.”, Burrow said, via the team’s website. “He was due for one. I knew he was going to have a big game. Just the way he was talking all week, he was excited to play this one. He showed up big for us. He showed why he’s one of the best”.
The two put up historic numbers at the college level during their one season together at LSU, and they picked up right where they left off two years later when they reunited as first-round picks of the Bengals. To put it simply, nobody was surprised to see how well they worked together.
It will get expensive, though. The Bengals already made Burrow the highest-paid player in NFL history. As early as next offseason, they will likely have to give Chase the largest wide receiver contract of all time, though he may have to wait until 2025.
As far as the rest of this season goes, the focus for now will be on Burrow’s calf and how he holds up to continued exertion. He did take two sacks against the Los Angeles Rams, including one by Aaron Donald, and three more quarterback hits. We’ll have to see how that calf holds up by the time they play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second half of the year.
