The AFC North has lost its second quarterback of the week to a season-ending injury. Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow will miss the rest of the year with a torn ligament in his hand, according to Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. He announced the news moments ago.
Burrow clutched his hand throwing a touchdown pass to RB Joe Mixon in last night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. Unable to grip the football on the sidelines, he went to the locker room and was ruled out shortly after halftime.
Jake Browning is the next man up on the team’s depth chart and likely to start the team’s Week 12 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s unknown if the team will explore any veteran, outside options. Heading into Thursday night, Browning had thrown just one career pass. He went 8-of-14 for 68 yards and a garbage-time touchdown in relief of Burrow against the Ravens. The Steelers play the Bengals a second time in Week 16, a home game for Pittsburgh.
It’s the second season-ending injury Burrow’s suffered since being drafted first overall in 2020. As a rookie, he tore his ACL, which also came in a Week 11 game, against the Washington Commanders. He returned for Week One of the 2021 season.
Burrow’s injury means he won’t face the Steelers at all this season. It’s a massive blow to a team that lost last night’s game, dropping the Bengals to 5-5 and likely pushing them out of the playoff race. After battling a training camp calf injury, Burrow’s season got off to a terrible start. But as he got healthy, the Bengals’ offense bounced back, and they again looked like contenders. On the season, Burrow had thrown 15 touchdowns to six interceptions while completing nearly 67 percent of his passes.
Earlier this week, the Cleveland Browns announced QB Deshaun Watson would miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder fracture. In victory last night, the Ravens lost top TE Mark Andrews for the season due to an ankle injury. Pittsburgh will face rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson this week and presumably Browning next week as a tough AFC North looks a little less daunting today.
