Why Starting Joe Burrow In Week 3 Could Backfire For Bengals

Joe Burrow (calf) is trending toward playing on Monday night, which could be the worst thing for Cincinnati.

The Bengals are facing a Los Angeles Rams front led by Aaron Donald. As he showed a couple weeks ago against Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, he’s still capable of instilling fear into quarterbacks.

Is it really a good idea to put a clearly not 100 percent Joe Burrow on the field against Aaron Donald tonight? Like did we forget he made Geno Smith say this two weeks ago? pic.twitter.com/1bFYEOWXXL

— Myles Simmons (@MylesASimmons) September 25, 2023

Cincinnati’s back is against the wall, facing a 0-3 start. Burrow is the only quarterback on the Bengals roster that gives them a reasonable chance of winning, but if he suffers another setback against Donald and the Rams, that would put the final nail in the Bengals’ coffin.

If sitting Burrow this week means he has less chance of re-injuring his calf, Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor should consider it.

Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase said during training camp he believed the Bengals would be fine if Burrow didn’t play until Week 6. To his point, Cincinnati was excellent after Week 5 last season, going 10-1 over its final 11 games. During that stretch, Burrow was 290-of-415 for 3,159 yards, 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Over the past two seasons, Cincinnati is 13-3 in the regular season after the month of October in games Burrow started.

He’s the engine that makes the Bengals roar. As much as they need a win on Monday night, the only thing they can afford less is losing Burrow.