Joe Burrow’s return is coming soon, here’s how his past comeback games have looked for the Bengals
Burrow has had to comeback from injury before, but never quite like this.
Whether it’s this Sunday against the New England Patriots or Thanksgiving night against the Baltimore Ravens, the return of Joe Burrow feels very, very close.
But what does that look like for the Cincinnati Bengals?
Burrow is a little over two months removed from surgery for his Grade 3 turf toe injury. Coming back from ligament tears is nothing new for Cincinnati’s quarterback as he’s done so twice before in his professional career.
No one quite knows how Burrow will look in his first game back, especially since this is the first time he’ll return in the same season when his injury occurred. The most we can do is look back at his previous two return games to see how he fared.
The results, well, varied a lot.
Joe Burrow came back promising from torn ACL in 2021
The start of the Bengals’ road to the Super Bowl in 2021 was a 27-24 Week 1 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in overtime. Ja’Marr Chase made his NFL debut and made a mighty first impression with his first-career touchdown reception, which was one of many quality throws his QB made on the day.
Burrow completed 20-27 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns against Minnesota. He also took five sacks, which caused many in what was then called Paul Brown Stadium to hold their breath while he was playing in a knee brace. He had reconstructive knee surgery nine months prior.
When he was kept upright, Burrow took advantage of being reunited with Chase and having both him and Tee Higgins at his disposal for the very first time. Higgins caught Burrow’s first touchdown pass of the day.
It wasn’t a perfect day for Burrow, but it was promising nonetheless and the start of one of his best seasons to date.
Wrist injury was tougher for Joe Burrow to overcome in 2024
Fast forward three years and it’s the beginning of the 2024 season. Burrow was another nine months removed from surgery, this time for his throwing wrist. Questions about his ability to throw at full capacity were constant throughout the offseason as a QB of his prominence, or any QB at this level, never had to undergo this kind of recovery.
The results were rough. Cincinnati lost an ugly game to the New England Patriots, 10-16, as Burrow and the offense couldn’t get anything going through the air. Burrow completed 21-29 passes for 164 yards with zero touchdowns and interceptions.
Throwing the ball didn’t appear to be the biggest concern with Burrow at the time. He was overly skittish in the pocket and wasn’t aggressive in pushing the ball down the field. Burrow has consistently operated more cautiously in the beginning of seasons when he hasn’t had as many live reps.
As he attempts to play again this season, that becomes the central focal point of his comeback.
Returning midseason is entirely new for Joe Burrow
The previous times Burrow has had to overcome torn ligaments suffered while playing, he’s had full offseasons to train and get right for his next game. He’s never had to come back during the same season as his surgery, and that new variable makes his incoming return all the more fascinating.
November and December have been Burrow’s prime months. The Bengals have been largely successful when he’s on the field for the final stretch of the season as he’s typically played his best ball.
If that continues this time around, Cincinnati may still have a chance at the playoffs. Burrow will have to hit the ground running faster than ever before to make it happen.
Cincinnati Bengals News
Dan Orlovsky drops a bold take about Joe Burrow and the Bengals following injury report surprise
Orlovsky is confident Burrow will return very soon.
