CINCINNATI — Thursday figures to be a last stand of sorts for the Bengals season. Joe Burrow returns as starting quarterback with the season likely already lost.
But this could be a chance to see a glimpse of what might have been had he stayed healthy. Then again, it’s realistic to temper expectations, given the fact that he is making his first start in 11 weeks and is coming off surgery on his left big toe. Throw in the fact that he is up against a rejuvenated Ravens defense that has helped Baltimore win it’s last five games and returned to the top of the AFC North and a weather forecast calling for a polar vortex that will drive wind chill into the lower teens and you can see the challenge ahead of Burrow.
But that hasn’t stopped Burrow from working as hard as he can to return and earn his starting gig back. That work alone has inspired people inside the building.
“Just watching him the past two, three weeks, watching how much he really want to get back, most quarterbacks can look at their team right now and sit out the rest of the year. But one thing I’ll say is I just watched him the way prepared to come back and things like that, it makes me just want to play for him at this point,” said safety Geno Stone. “Honestly, he doesn’t really need to come back. He didn’t want to. But it shows how much he wants to play, how much competitor he is. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in league, and I’ll do anything for him on my side of the ball.”
“I mean, everybody’s thinking about it,” added Chase Brown. “He’s kind of at that time of his recovery where it could be any week now. So that’s really up to him and the training staff, and people that have been working closely with him throughout his recovery process. He’s been out at practice, he’s taken a lot of reps with us and team periods. So, yeah, I mean, everybody’s thinking about it.”
Then there’s this from defensive coordinator Al Golden:
“I think anybody would jump at that opportunity to be in an organization where he’s the leader. And again, you guys see him as a quarterback. We see him every day in terms of his work ethic. I don’t want to speak for anybody else, but what he’s doing right now and what he did last week, is inspiring. It’s inspiring to us as a defense. It’s inspiring to the players, the coaches… he gets paid to do it, but he’s not a mercenary. He’s a volunteer. And there’s a big difference. He’s a volunteer. He loves the game, he loves to compete, he loves this organization, and that was inspiring to watch that last week. And I don’t know where his health is at or anything like that, but we’ll see. We’ll see where it goes from here.”
In a word, Joe Burrow is inspirational. He’s inspiring a team that desperately needs it after four straight losses and eight of nine after starting the season 2-0. There’s no doubt the Bengals have fought hard but the results haven’t been there for most of the season. That gets old really fast.
Zac Taylor will finally have his franchise quarterback back on the field. He just hopes that he’s in a position to really help.
“Well, obviously he’s a great player. So it’s exciting to have him back. I think our energy has been really good,” Taylor said. “I don’t feel like that’s been an issue for us. You see the way the team fought there until the very end, trying to get stops in all three phases and score points on offense. These guys fought tooth and nail, played with really good energy. But obviously when you one of the greatest players in the world coming back, that’s another boost on top of that. When we do get Joe back, it’ll be exciting to watch him go out there and play. I’m sure it’s energy for everybody involved.”
It’s one thing to inspire in the training room and practice field, it’s another to face live bullets like the Baltimore defense, and Taylor is well aware of this. What does he expect it to look like in his first game back?
“Difficult to predict. It has been several months,” Taylor said. “So again, I’m not going to make any predictions on what it looks like. But again, he’s put himself in great shape. It’s good to see him through the progression that we’ve had over the last several weeks. I think it was a fair progression for him to do the 7-on-7, do the 11-on-11, get your mind right, try to get ready to play in a game. And then ultimately, we’ll wait and see where it lands. But I think it’s been a really good progression. It’s been helpful for him. He’s done everything he can and we can to get him ready to go play in a game.”
Ja’Marr Chase issued an apology Monday for his spitting at Jalen Ramsey on Nov. 16 that wound up in a one-game suspension that forced him to sit out a game against the Patriots that the Bengals lost 26-20. Certainly, Chase’s suspension was felt. The Bengals could’ve used his firepower along with Tee Higgins to pressure the New England secondary and perhaps it would’ve made a difference. But in a season where the Bengals have had everything go against them, Chase’s suspension just marked another case of a lack of discipline and poor choices costing the the team dearly.
On Monday, with the receiver back in the building and chatting up teammates like Chase Brown, Chase took the time to post on IG his regret to the National Football League community, the entire Pittsburgh Steelers organization, his teammates and coaches. He also acknowledged lying about the incident with Ramsey immediately following the 34-12 loss in Pittsburgh. And he apologized to the fans that “wear his jersey” and Bengals fans in general for incident. He acknowledged regret for his absence in a game the Bengals could have clearly used his skills to have a much better chance to win. One thing he did not do was mention Jalen Ramsey by name, interesting for the mere fact that Ramsey is not considered without fault in the whole incident for several highly questionable blocks and hits on Bengals receivers, including a crackback block on Tee Higgins, a hit on Andrei Iosivas and a blindside blow to the back of Chase before the fourth quarter incident.
Bengals fans and coaches have been waiting all season for what they saw Sunday from the defensive line. Early in the third quarter, on New England’s first drive of the second half, after a three-and-out from the offense, the Patriots made it down to the Bengals 5 on a 35-yard pass interference call on Dax Hill. The Bengals had the Patriots stopped on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 when Hill was called for another DPI in the end zone. The Patriots had a TD pass to Hunter Henry nullified by penalty on offensive pass interference. Then the Bengals had two more snaps from their own one and Rhamondre Stevenson was stopped twice, allowing the Bengals to stay close at 17-13. Geno Stone and Jordan Battle blew up the third down run and Myles Murphy and Joseph Ossai blew up the fourth down play. Nine snaps inside the 15 and five from inside the 2 and zero points for the Patriots.
“It’s what gets you up early and get you in here after what you go through, from a gut-wrenched standpoint, is just watching those guys fight for nine straight plays on the five yard line,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “I mean, I don’t know if I’ll see another one. That was unique, and it revealed who they are, and we can build on that.”
“All I really remember, I kind of blacked out for that part, but it was just really hyped up, because nobody faltered, nobody switched up,” tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. said. “Everybody was just hype, like we’re gonna make a statement right now, from young guys, old guys, and you saw that happen, and it was awesome.
“We’re about to face really good players and a really good team. But we know our ability. We know what we can do, and we showed that. So we just got to stay with the process. Once we start to get momentum, you could really feel that energy within us, and it starts to give us that life. So we’re just going to try to keep that process going and continue to take those steps, to keep doing it.”
Then in the fourth quarter, and the Patriots up, 20-13, the Patriots made it down to the Bengals 4. TreVeyon Henderson made it to the one before Drake Maye was stopped for no gain on a sneak at the 1. Mike Vrabel learned his lesson and took the points on the road, 23-13, with a two-score lead. Still, the Bengals held and gave themselves a fighting chance when the offense finally put together a drive on the next series.
It was the best showing of toughness the Bengals had shown all season on defense. It came on the heels of a defensive stand the week before in Pittsburgh where the Bengals were clearly robbed on a fourth-down stand inside Pittsburgh territory. Al Golden came on the field excited that his unit made the stop but a horrific spot by the officiating crew spoiled the effort from the defense.
“I felt last week on the fourth and one, I’m not an idiot. I looked at this side judge, I looked at the other side judge, and said, ‘All right, we’re good.’ And then (Sunday vs. Patriots) it’s just exciting to see them compete and fight the way they did. And when you’re building it, when you’re developing it, when you’re trying to grow as a defense, those are big building blocks now, because that becomes part of their DNA, that becomes part of them. And so when they’re in that situation again, not that it will be easy, but at least demonstrated performance. It’s hard. It’s hard to have demonstrated performance.”
The Bengals defense allowed 20 points against the Steelers and 19 against the Patriots. It’s getting better and better. But this week against Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers figures to be the stiffest yet.
