Why This 0-2 Start Feels Different for Joe Burrow and the 2023 Cincinnati Bengals
CINCINNATI — The Bengals are 0-2 for a second consecutive season following Sunday's loss to the Ravens.
Unfortunately, they've been in this position before. Not only did they start 0-2 last year, but they were also winless in the division after two games.
The Ravens beat them in Week 5 last season to make them 0-2 in the AFC North. Cincinnati recovered from the early season hole to win the division and make it back to the AFC Championship Game for a second consecutive season.
Can this team make a similar recovery after stubbing their toe in the first two games of the 2023 campaign?
That's a question that will be asked a lot over the next week.
Unfortunately, there's one major difference from last season: Joe Burrow's health.
The star quarterback was coming off of an appendectomy last season. He had to gain weight after undergoing emergency surgery and clearly wasn't at full strength to start the season.
An offensive line that hadn't played together was still finding their footing.
This year it's different. The offensive line played well on Sunday against the Ravens. Burrow appeared to get into a rhythm in the second half, but aggravated a calf injury that forced him to miss the entire preseason and most of training camp.
Will he be able to play through it?
"I tweaked it again. So, we'll just have to reevaluate the next couple of days," Burrow said. "Whenever you have these kinds of things, it's always ongoing. It's always something that you're managing. Like I said, I don't know how I'm going to feel the next couple of days. We'll have to wait and see."
Burrow seemed concerned during his 8-minute postgame media session. It's one thing to be confident in the team to turn it around like they did last season. It's much different for a team to dig itself out of an 0-2 hole while their best player is nursing an injury that's lingered for seven weeks.
The Bengals will hope for the best and hopefully Burrow can play through the calf issue. He's played with plenty of other ailments during his four-year career and their margin for error is razor thin after their second-straight 0-2 start.
Burrow didn't rule out the possibility of having to manage this injury for the rest of the season.
"I don't know. It's tough to tell," he said. "It's tough to look into the future and see that. I'm doing everything I can to get healthy and get that thing the way I need to so I can go out and perform the way I need to win. We'll see.”
The Bengals play the Rams at home, before going to Nashville to play the Titans for a third consecutive season (including playoffs). Then they have the Cardinals on the road and the Seahawks at home followed by their bye in Week 7.
"I'm still confident. I feel really confident in all the guys we have in that room," Burrow said. "We're going to have to see how that calf feels the next couple of days. I don't know how it's going to feel. We'll see.”
Finding a way to get to 3-3 at the bye would be a realistic goal for a team that had a 100% healthy quarterback. Unfortunately, the Bengals don't know how healthy Burrow is going to be over the next month.
Even if he is able to play through the injury, how close will he be to 100%?
That question will be asked plenty over the next few weeks. The answer could determine the fate of the 2023 Cincinnati Bengals.
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