CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow didn’t squander any year attending to the rostrum later the Bengals’ 27-24 loss to the Ravens. Simply as newshounds began to go into the Bengals depot room, Burrow rather led them to the crew’s press convention segment. As soon as there, Burrow knowledgeable them and everybody else that he annoyed his calf right through the Bengals’ second-to-last offensive play games. 

Burrow particularly stated that he tweaked the injured calf that pressured him to leave out a pace of coaching camp. Era it doesn’t seem that the trauma will sideline him, Burrow didn’t deal any specifics in regards to the trauma and the way it’ll have an effect on him in the future. 

“We’re going to have to wait and see,” Burrow stated of his calf. “I’m not sure how it’s going to feel the next couple of days. It’s pretty sore right now. No telling how it’s going to feel. I think we’re going to take it day by day.”

In spite of the trauma and the Bengals’ 0-2 get started, Burrow is assured that he and his teammates gets issues grew to become round. 

“We’ve done it before,” he stated. “Obviously, you don’t want to start 0-2. It’s not what we were planning. We’re going to bounce back. That’s what we do. That’s all there is to it.”

Burrow added that he would have re-entered the sport if the Bengals would have had one final prospect with the ball overdue within the tournament. Thankfully for Burrow, he’ll have one too much while to left-overs his calf with the Bengals webhosting the Rams after Monday night time. 

“It’s tough to tell, tough to look into the future and see that,” Burrow stated when requested if he anticipates coping with the trauma all season. “I’m doing everything I can to get healthy and get that thing the way I need it to so I can go out and perform the way I need to to win. We’ll see.”

If Burrow is bodily compromised, the duty will additional be on Cincinnati’s offensive crease to give protection to the crew’s Professional Bowl quarterback. Era Burrow was once accident a couple of instances, the Bengals crease was once in large part forged on Sunday. The unit allowed one sack of Burrow one time later given up two sacks in Cleveland. 

The crease has performed properly, however should play games at a nearly superman stage if Burrow can’t go the way in which he’s acquainted with. Nobody is aware of that higher than Ted Karras, the crew’s veteran heart who prohibited for Tom Brady when Brady received his final two rings with the Patriots. 

“I don’t know the details on how [Burrow is] feeling,” Karras instructed CBS Sports activities later the sport. “I do know he’s fighting one thing. I believe it places a bundle of onus at the O-line. We must be as highest as we will be able to. We don’t need him to must go round extra within the area. I’ve skilled with that more or less gadget enjoying with Tom. … Till he will get to the place he appears like he’s 100%, the O-line must be on the supremacy of our tournament. 

“I think we played a pretty solid game against a good front, but ultimately came up short in an AFC North bloodbath kind of games.”

The Bengals, who misplaced each their video games this season towards divisional foes, additionally began 0-2 final moment however rebounded with a go back commute to the AFC name tournament. Cincinnati would build historical past in the event that they simply build the playoffs this season, as refuse crew since 1990 has reached the playoffs in consecutive years later consecutive 0-2 begins. 

“When your quarterback misses camp, it’s tough to start fast,” stated Burrow, who additionally overlooked a good portion of camp in 2022 later present process a surgical procedure to take away his appendix. “It’s not an ideal situation.”

Announcing the Bengals’ offense began sluggish this season can be a sarcasm. The unit scored simply 3 issues final Sunday in Cleveland and won a futile 65 yards within the first half of on Sunday. Cincinnati’s first landing of the 2023 season was once rookie Charlie Jones’ 81-yard punt go back that stored the Bengals within the tournament at interlude. 

Ailing 13-10, the Bengals offense confirmed indicators of month to start out the second one half of. The unit drove into the purple zone (at the power of Burrow’s well-designed 32-yard swing cross to Joe Mixon) and threatened to hurry the top sooner than Ravens protection Geno Stone stepped in entrance of Burrow’s cross supposed for Tee Higgins in entrance of the top zone. The select arrange Lamar Jackson’s first of 2 second-half landing passes as Baltimore took a 10-point top. 

“Really good play by him,” Burrow stated of Stone’s select. “Good disguise. But I’ve got to see that.” 

Burrow and Co. replied on their after power, with Burrow hitting Higgins for the offense’s first landing of the season. However the Ravens countered with a 12-play scoring power that was once punctuated by means of Nelson Agholor’s nifty over-the-shoulder landing catch. 

The 2 groups nearest exchanged punts sooner than Burrow accident Higgins for some other ranking to decrease the lack to a few issues with 3:28 left. The Bengals by no means were given the ball again, on the other hand, as Jackson and Gus Edwards ran for game-clinching first downs. 

“We moved the ball well the whole game,” stated Burrow, who completed with 221 yards on 27 of 41 passing. “First half of, we had 3 possessions. We had a conserving name that took us again. … We had a 3rd ill and didn’t convert and we scored issues at the alternative one. 

“Second half, looking back, we moved it really well. Came down to the turnover in the red zone. When you’re playing that team, you can’t have that mistake because they’re going to run it well, they’re going to keep it away from you, they’re going to score points. Lamar’s a great player; he’s going to make plays. So you’ve got take advantage of all your red zone opportunities. That was my mistake.” 

Given their luck in the second one half of, it’s guard to mention that Cincinnati’s offense has began to search out its means. However the unit received’t really be again till Ja’Marr Chase will get extra concerned. He had simply 5 catches for 31 yards on Sunday later a stat crease of 5 grabs for 39 yards in Cleveland. 

“We need to get him involved,” Burrow stated of the two-time Professional Bowler and previous LSU teammate. “He’s our best player on offense, so we need to find a way to get him off.” 

At the side of Chase, the Bengals offense nonetheless wishes to search out their Deny. 2 operating again at the back of Mixon, who ran for 56 and 59 yards on a mixed 26 carries in Cincinnati’s first two video games. Chase Brown, a rookie who stuffed in Sunday for injured extra Chris Evans, had only one lift for 2 yards in his regular-season debut. 

The Bengals protection has additionally didn’t get a hold of well timed stops. It allowed a 52-yard bomb from Jackson to rookie Zay Plants one play games later Stone’s select that ended in Jackson’s landing cross to Mark Andrews. It nearest didn’t get the ball again to its offense within the tournament’s ultimate mins. 

A part of the defensives problems is a rebuilt secondary that incorporates unused starters in safeties Nick Scott (who left Sunday’s tournament early later getting into the concussion protocol) and 2022 first-round select Daxton Hill. 

“Us as a defense, we have to make those plays,” Hill instructed CBS Sports activities in a while. “Some of those plays we want back, but we’ll correct those for next week.” 

In a similar fashion to final moment, there was once refuse feeling of panic within the Bengals depot room. Positive, there was once some frustration, however that’s to be anticipated when a crew with Tremendous Bowl aspirations begins 0-2. The Bengals additionally know that they’ve a skilled roster. And era they received’t say it, they’re most probably conscious that the next time table lightens up with video games towards the Rams, Titans and Cardinals, 3 groups that went a mixed 17-35 final moment. 

The Bengals even have the commitment of getting one of the vital NFL’s supremacy quarterbacks (albeit now not an absolutely wholesome one) who has received extra playoff video games than any alternative quarterback for the reason that get started of the 2021 season. 

“I’m still confident,” Burrow stated. “I feel really confident in all the guys we have in that room. Like I said, we’re going to have to see how that calf feels in the next couple of days. I don’t know how it’s gonna feel. We’ll see.” 

With that, Burrow were given up and left the rostrum, which ended in many newshounds venturing again to the house crew’s depot room. Era one of the vital Bengals gamers had left, Professional Bowl take on Orlando Brown Jr. was once nonetheless sitting at his depot. Brown, who selected to signal with the Bengals this offseason later profitable all of it with the Chiefs final moment, feels that the Bengals — and particularly the offense — can nonetheless accomplish what they move ahead to reach. 

“Ultimately, I think this offensive group is really special,” Brown instructed CBS Sports activities. “I think we’ve got all the potential in the world and go out and be whatever we want to be from each position group. We’ve got some special talent. 

“We’ll get the ball rolling. We’ll get extra relaxed and we’ll be capable of regulate the tide of the sport and the momentum in the future.”

All of that sounds just right, however the primary query rest Burrow and the fitness of his calf. The Bengals will journey handiest so far as their franchise quarterback can top them.