Joe Burrow is coming back from a toe injury, and people are questioning that decision, even though there are six games remaining in the regular season.
His Bengals are five games below .500 and have lost eight of their past nine games but Burrow doesn’t want to simply hang out on the sideline when Cincinnati visits the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.
“I’m a football player,” Burrow said Tuesday. “I’m not gonna ever go to somebody and say, ‘I’m healthy, but I don’t think I should go out there and play.’ That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
The Bengals (3-8) have very slim odds of reaching the playoffs and struggled with Jake Browning and Joe Flacco as starting quarterbacks after Burrow was injured in a Week 2 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Burrow had toe surgery, and there was concern he might miss the rest of the season.
But rehab efforts went smoothly and Burrow is ready to play in late November. As he prepares for the contest against Baltimore, there is a heavy chorus of comments suggesting he sit out the rest of the season to ensure he’s healthy for the 2026 campaign.
“I’m not going to live my life and play this game scared of something happening,” Burrow said. “Like, yeah, something is going to happen, it’s football. Guys are going to get hurt, guys are going to get concussions, you’re going to break bones, tear ligaments. It’s a physical, intense game. That’s part of this. Yeah, I’ve had injuries, there’s not a lot I can do about that.”
The two-time Pro Bowler isn’t the lone signal caller in this matchup who has had injury problems this season.
Baltimore (6-5) has been unable to keep Lamar Jackson in top health. After dealing with knee and ankle injuries, the two-time NFL MVP injured a toe in Sunday’s 23-10 victory over the New York Jets.
“I just got fell on, but I’m good though,” Jackson said Tuesday. “The toe’s good.”
Jackson has been hearing chatter about his drop in production.
Jackson has thrown more interceptions (two) than touchdowns (one) over the past three games, failing to reach 200 passing yards in each contest.
But Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Jackson is doing the job just fine.
“He’s been doing things you take for granted; you protect the football, or you operate the right way, or you get us down the field,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve had some key drives at the end of the game in the second half and in the fourth quarter that have been game winners for us and the offense. So, you may be referring to quote-unquote gaudy stats and things like that, but how about the fourth-quarter stats>”
Jackson could get going Thursday as the Bengals rank last in the NFL in scoring defense (32.7 points per game) and total defense (415.8 yards per game).
Last season, the teams engaged in two shootouts as the Ravens beat host Cincinnati 41-38 in overtime and won 35-34 in Baltimore.
“It’s crazy, we’d be scoring so fast,” Ravens wideout Zay Flowers recalled. “You’d be like, ‘(Dang), we just got off the field,’ then we’d be back on, then they’re on. You’re always warm, you’re always ready to go.”
Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase caught 21 passes for 457 yards and five touchdowns in the two games. He had 264 yards — two shy of his career high — in the one-point loss.
Chase was suspended for Sunday’s 26-20 loss to the New England Patriots for spitting on Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey one week earlier. Chase apologized for his actions on Monday.
“At the end of the day, I don’t really have nothing to prove about who I am,” Chase said Tuesday.
The Bengals will be without receiver Tee Higgins (concussion), who was injured against the Patriots, along with defensive end Trey Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) and running back Tahj Brooks (concussion).
Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton (ankle) was injured Sunday but returned to practice Tuesday.
