Joe Burrow clears the air after suffering head injury during Bengals' needed win over Steelers
Without his starting running back and right tackle, Saturday night was always going to be a tough game for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Exactly 50 drop backs were taken by the darkhorse MVP candidate against the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers pass rush. One of them ended with Burrow landing on his helmet and the football, a […]
Without his starting running back and right tackle, Saturday night was always going to be a tough game for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
Exactly 50 drop backs were taken by the darkhorse MVP candidate against the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers pass rush. One of them ended with Burrow landing on his helmet and the football, a play that resulted in him being checked on in the blue medical tent.
Burrow came back onto the field the ensuing drive and finished the game, but not in the strongest of ways. The offense only scored three points in the following three drives to close the game out. He finished the night with 277 passing yards and a touchdown and interception each on 37/46 passing.
What really matters is the win he helped secure, and his status after the game.
Joe Burrow postgame head injury update
Burrow was allowed to speak to reporters following the 19-17 victory, a positive sign for players who suffered injury. He recalled what happened on the play he got hurt.
"Just landed on my head a little bit," Burrow said. "And sometimes when those situations happen, they scare you a little bit. So it was just making sure we were all good."
Burrow was on his back for several seconds as trainers checked on his head/neck area. He had been sacked by Steelers edge defender Nick Herbig and went facemask first into the grass. After the initial on-field checks, Burrow ran off the field and went into the medical tent. He got the all clear and went right back to work.
"I mean, after the first 15 seconds of being down, I realized I was all good," Burrow said. "There's nothing, nothing, that was going to keep me from the game at that point."
Burrow entering the concussion protocol a week before a potential playoff game would've been far from ideal for the Bengals. It appears he avoided that hurdle.
Burrow wrapped up his first ever 17-game regular season with 4,918 passing yards, 43 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions. Most importantly, he's healthy in the month of January. The last two times that was the case, the Bengals were in the AFC Championship Game at minimum.
That can only happen again if they get losses from the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins Sunday afternoon. Not even Burrow himself can control the outcome now, but the Bengals will gladly take a healthy No. 9 no matter what happens.
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