CINCINNATI — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow “did everything he could” to play on Sunday against the Patriots, but head coach Zac Taylor decided against it.
The team opted to keep Burrow on injured reserve, which likely paves the way for him to return on Thanksgiving against Baltimore. That’s a plan that both Burrow and the team have had for quite some time according to NFL insider Dianna Russini.
“Taylor decided to give Burrow a few more days of rest with the hope he can be ready to go for Thursday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens,” Russini wrote on Saturday. “Going back to last month, the Bengals’ plan for Burrow was for him to return on Thanksgiving Day. It wasn’t a timeline they publicized, but it shows just how steady their internal confidence has been, even when no one on the outside was expecting such a quick return. Taylor said Burrow, who was listed as a full participant in practice this week for the first time since surgery for a turf toe injury suffered in Week 2, did everything possible to put himself in a position to play this week. But with a short turnaround and a game looming on Thanksgiving night, Cincinnati is holding off. By letting Burrow work with the first-team offense, he could build up valuable time with the starters. Flacco, who is nursing a sprained AC joint himself, is a veteran who doesn’t need the same practice time as a younger understudy. So, an experienced starter gets another nod, while Burrow reaps the rewards of extra practice reps without having to play twice in five days.”
That means the Bengals will likely activate Burrow this week and he’ll start against the Ravens. Meanwhile, they’re hoping Flacco can play well against the 9-2 Patriots. New England has won 8-straight games. The Bengals are 1-7 in their last eight contests.
Every game is a must-win when you’re 3-7, but the next five days are crucial for a Bengals team hoping to turn their season around.
It’s a big reason why Burrow pushed to play on Sunday. If the Bengals somehow won on Sunday and went to Baltimore and came back with another victory, they’d be 5-7 and right back in the AFC playoff hunt.
Things change quickly in this league. The Bengals went from 3-4 and one quarter away from getting back to .500 to blowing a double-digit lead against the Jets and coming up short in a wild game against the Bears that they nearly pulled out with a late fourth quarter rally.
Stranger things have happened. They can’t and likely won’t if Flacco and the Bengals don’t find a way past the Patriots on Sunday.
