Burrow suffered a toe injury that required surgery in the Bengals’ Week 2 win over the Jaguars. The original timeline for a return was projected at three months, the Bengals star will beat that by a few weeks, and he spoke openly on Tuesday about how meaningful playing on Thanksgiving against a rival was for him.
“It’s a league game,” Burrow said. “It’s intense out there, something I wanted to be out there for.
“Playing on Thanksgiving, something I’ve always wanted to do that I’ve pushed for in the past and the NFL gave it to us (this season). Then the injury happened and (I) thought I wasn’t going to be able to play, and as we got closer I felt like it was a real possibility. So it’s exciting for me. It’s playing in a national game for a few weeks again after not going out there.”
Burrow said he remembers growing up watching Lions star wide receiver Calvin Johnson play at Thanksgiving every year in Detroit.
“Those are the memories you have, so I always wanted to be the person out there,” Burrow said, adding “you’re playing on a Thursday night in front of the world, it’s an exciting opportunity.”
The first of two games in three weeks against the Ravens is also a chance for the Bengals to make the playoffs.
The Bengals currently trail the Ravens and Steelers by three games in the division, but six straight wins to end the season would move Cincy to 9-8 and possibly back to the postseason.
“We pretty much have to win every game at this point,” Burrow admitted on Tuesday. “The only way you’re going to do that is to go at it every week like you have to be 1-0 that week and carry on to the next.”
Cincinnati kicks off at Baltimore on Thanksgiving at 8:20 PM ET.