In Joe Burrow’s two full seasons as QB1, the Cincinnati Bengals have been to at least the AFC Championship both times. Those two appearances resulted in a win in 2021 and a devastating loss in the final seconds of 2022.
We didn’t know what Joe Burrow and the Bengals were capable of going into the 2021 season, the first time Burrow came back from a major injury. Coming off another major injury this season, we know what Burrow and the Bengals are capable of.
One national insider shares that belief. NFL.com’s Judy Batista gave 10 bold predictions for the upcoming NFL season, with one of them being the Bengals returning to the AFC Championship.
Batista writes: “The Bengals have shown that when Joe Burrow is healthy, they are a Super Bowl-caliber team. Burrow has spent the offseason getting bigger and stronger and focusing on nutrition in an effort to improve his durability, and he will undoubtedly be highly motivated to silence questions about whether he is injury-prone. If he stays on the field — and assuming the Bengals do not trade Tee Higgins— this is the only team that has consistently challenged the Chiefs’ supremacy. They’ll get another chance to knock off the champs this season.”
It’s worth noting that the last time Burrow came back from a major injury, his Bengals teammates raved about how he looked bigger and had more arm strength. That led to Burrow leading the NFL in completion percentage and yards per attempt in 2021 while taking the Bengals to an AFC Championship and winning Comeback Player of the Year.
As for whether Burrow is injury-prone, that is debatable. Keep in mind, though, that the number of games Burrow has missed in his career adds up to less than the equivalent of a full 17-game season. Take Ben Roethlisberger- yes, I know how Bengals fans feel about him. But Big Ben only played a full regular season four times in 18 seasons and missed multiple regular season games in seven of his 18 seasons.
Every player in the NFL is injury-prone. Even Brett Favre, who holds the record for most consecutive starts in NFL history, had injuries. It’s not just Burrow who gets hurt.
He doesn’t need to prove he’s not injury-prone because every player in the NFL is prone to injuries. Burrow has already taken the Bengals to heights that Bengals fans didn’t know were possible, and those heights are more than just those on the field.
On the field, as Batista mentioned, they have consistently proven they can beat the Chiefs. Now that Burrow is back, the Bengals are the biggest proven challengers to the Chiefs. They’ll get their first shot at Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Week 2.
They may also, and it’s certainly a possibility, get another shot at the Chiefs in the playoffs.