BALTIMORE — On a chilly Thanksgiving night in Charm City, Joe Burrow gave the Cincinnati Bengals a spark. Whether it becomes a playoff flame remains to be seen.
Playing for the first time since he suffered a turf toe injury that required surgery 11 weeks ago, Burrow was good enough to engineer a much-needed 32-14 win over the Baltimore Ravens – though the Bengals (4-8) remain postseason long shots, sitting in 12th place overall in the AFC. The outcome had more immediate consequences for the Ravens, who fell to 6-6 and out of the projected playoff field by ceding first place in the AFC North back to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Asked on NBC’s telecast prior to kickoff why he’d returned to a team with little hope of survival beyond the regular season, Burrow replied: “We’re getting paid a lot of money to play a kid’s game,” adding he wanted to be with his guys − who’d gone 1-8 in his absence.
Now 3-0 with Burrow in the lineup, the Stripes were the obvious winners, their relevance extended at least another 10 days. Yet there were plenty of other winners and losers on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium:
Playing in near-freezing temperatures on a breezy night and with a protective metal plate in his cleat, he was hardly vintage Burrow. But he warmed up in the second half, throwing both of his touchdown passes after Cincinnati had settled for four first-half field goals. As the toe continues to heal, his rhythm returns and maybe WR Tee Higgins (concussion) returns, maybe – just maybe – Burrow can lead this team on a late-season charge similar to last year’s … though that one fell one win shy of a playoff berth.
