In his first game with custom footwear, Burrow didn’t seem too limited. He was able to move enough to run play fakes, navigate the pocket, buy time with his feet and fire a handful of sharp passes in key spots, finishing with 261 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest challenge, in fact, was the lack of players he had received since injuring his toe in September.
In the second half, Burrow settled in and the Bengals upset the Ravens in the league.
“(It was) really impressive,” offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. “I think he summed it up the same way I would. (There were) probably four plays in the first half, just kind of uncharacteristic mistakes that seemed strange from him because we’re just not used to them. Other than that I thought it worked very cleanly. I felt the communication at the line of scrimmage and in and out of the huddle, so that he was a good enough threat in the huddle that he could be a very good threat in the huddle. second half.”
The average Bengals player knows their chances increase exponentially with Burrow on the field. They just spent 10 weeks learning firsthand how hard it can be to win without their quarterback, losing all but one of those games. Even if he’s not quite at his peak, they’d much rather have Burrow on the field than drafted.
Burrow completed his first test. Five more await him and the 4-8 Bengals, who begin Sunday against the Bills (8-4), with a slim margin for error.
“Our biggest focus right now is finding a way to beat Buffalo and take them where they go from there,” coach Zac Taylor said. “Right now, that’s really all that matters.”