Despite a calf injury, QB Joe Burrow played every offensive snap Monday night in helping the Bengals pick up their first win. « There is risk to go out there and potentially reinjure it, » he said. « But there’s also the risk to not go out there and be 0-3. »
CINCINNATI — One thing mattered most when it came to Joe Burrow playing Monday night: If the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback felt good enough to compete, he wanted to be on the field.
Eight days after he aggravated a strained right calf, Burrow played every offensive snap and helped the Bengals pick up their first win of the season, a 19-16 decision over the Los Angeles Rams.
The Bengals (1-2) were facing their first potential three-game losing streak since Burrow’s rookie season in 2020. That was a big factor in Burrow pushing hard to play in the prime-time game despite the calf issue.
« There is risk to go out there and potentially reinjure it, » Burrow said. « But there’s also the risk to not go out there and be 0-3. So I wanted to be out there for my guys, and I was confident that I would be able to do what I needed to get the win. »
Burrow was 26-of-49 passing for 259 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Afterward, he acknowledged that he and the offense need to be better. However, their performance was enough on a night when Cincinnati linebacker Logan Wilson had two interceptions and the defense tallied six sacks and held the Rams to one touchdown on four red zone drives.
