A collective moment of panic was felt by the Cincinnati Bengals and the football community as a whole in Monday’s preseason Week 2 matchup with the Washington Commanders.
Joe Burrow took a frightening horse-caller hit from Commanders defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. early in the first quarter, prompting concern about his health and the enormous risks of the Bengals franchise QB’s extensive play in these exhibition games.
Burrow, who completed nine of 14 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown to Charlie Jones in the 31-17 victory, finally exited early in the second quarter. The 28-year-old Pro Bowler has looked very sharp in two preseason appearances, and has shown that the Bengals offense remains among the most explosive in the NFL.
Despite the risks that come with seeing game action before Week 1, Burrow has kept the focus on improving his timing and chemistry with the receivers. When asked about whether he might shut it down for the remainder of the preseason, he left a candid response about how important the reps are to him.
“Yeah, we’ll see. We’ll have those conversations this week. I know it’s a short week, so I doubt it. But I always find those reps valuable, and I can get better from those, so whatever [Bengals HC] Zac [Taylor] decides on, I’m happy to go out there and play as well. Some good learning experiences in the couple drives that we’ve had, got some fumbles out of the way, so that was good. Yeah, those are just incredibly valuable reps that usually work out those kinks in the first couple weeks of the regular season, and we worked them out the last two weeks.”
True to form, Burrow kept his perspective grounded and honest. It’s not about bravado for him. He sees this as an opportunity that many of his QB peers around the league don’t always approach with the same diligence.
Why Taylor Continues to Play Burrow, Bengals Starters
Like any coach, Zac Taylor has the burden of getting his star players reps with protecting them from unnecessary risk.
Taylor fielded questions about why Burrow was still out there beyond the first pair of Bengals drives, even after Ja’Marr Chase and other key starters had already been pulled.
Burrow didn’t sound too fazed by the hits he took against the Commanders, and Taylor echoed that sentiment after the game.
“Yeah. And that was really something he had talked about with me. You know, getting [WR] Ja’Marr [Chase] and [WR] Tee [Higgins] out of there and working with some of the guys that you never know, at some point in the season, you gotta work with them. We’ve got different roles for all those guys, and I thought those guys stepped up well and supported him and were able to put together that touchdown drive on that third drive.”
Risk vs. Reward
Health and preparation is the preseason tug-of-war every team with a franchise quarterback grapples with. On Monday night, the Bengals had to come eye to eye with the risk part of the equation. But Taylor sounded firm that the benefit of Burrow getting live action outweighed the danger.
“No, it’s one of those things for him. That’s what preseason football is for. Do I love seeing that, no I don’t. But at the same time, he’s out there learning what he can and can’t do. And we’ve seen him get out of that stuff before, and that’s why he’s playing in the preseason. For a chance to feel what it’s like to feel in a game. And there’s times where he’s going to get out of that and get a big play, and there’s going to be times where we’re in a tough spot on the two-yard line. And so he gets a chance to feel that and learn from it, and so again, I think there’s good three good series that we will continue to grow from.”
The Bengals’ final preseason game will be played on August 23 against the Indianapolis Colts, giving Burrow one more opportunity before the Bengals embark on one of their most pivotal campaigns in recent memory.
That said, Taylor and the entire organization will be monitoring his snaps closely from here on out.
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