As it turns out, the big injury return for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had been brewing for far longer than the public knew.

Burrow returned to practice before his team’s Week 11 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers after a bye week. That, after suffering the injury and undergoing surgery for the Grade 3 turf toe in mid-September.

But it was well before even that Week 11 practice that folks in the building at Paycor Stadium had a sneaking suspicion Burrow was way ahead of schedule.

As Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer put it, Burrow took a “bludgeon” to the recovery timeline:

“The first signs that Burrow might not only beat his timeline, but bludgeon it, came during a short week leading into the team’s first game against the Steelers, with new acquisition Joe Flacco readying to make his first start as a Bengal. After only popping in on team meetings, and smaller unit and position-group sessions, Burrow rejoined meetings more regularly that week. And while everyone knew what that meant, no one pressed the issue with him.”

Initial reports said that Burrow would be back roughly in the middle of December, should all go well and he really pushed things.

Instead, there was Burrow on Thanksgiving, having returned to dominate the rival Baltimore Ravens on the road and get his squad to 4-8. On the field, besides shaking off some rust in the first half, he really looked like his normal self, too.

The Bengals still need some serious help to make the playoffs. And they’d love to have losses to the likes of the Jets back, no doubt. But Burrow’s return gives them a fighting chance, and it’s a return that shattered most expectations, too.