Another AFC North team had a far worse Sunday than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Cincinnati Bengals improved to 2-0 with a dramatic 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they lost Joe Burrow for the foreseeable future. Burrow will require toe surgery that’s expected to sideline the star quarterback for at least three months, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Sunday night that the Bengals feared Burrow suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury. He left Sunday’s game when he got his foot rolled on after an Arik Armstead sack in the second quarter.
Burrow returned to the sidelines in a walking boot and was seen on crutches after the game. The 28-year-old watched Jake Browning lead a 15-play, 92-yard drive that resulted in a game-winning touchdown run with 19 seconds remaining at Paycor Stadium.
Losing Burrow is obviously a massive blow for the Bengals. The former No. 1 pick led the NFL with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns last season and has a 101.0 career quarterback rating.
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Cincinnati still missed the playoffs last season behind the NFL’s No. 25 defense. The Bengals must now rally behind Browning, who completed 70.3 percent of his passes and went 4-3 as a starter when Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury in 2023. Burrow also missed the final six games of his 2020 rookie campaign with a knee injury.
The three-month timetable doesn’t rule out Burrow for the rest of the season, but he’ll miss both Bengals games against the Steelers on Oct. 16 and Nov. 16.
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