Joe Burrow Opens Up About Recovery Following Bengals' Win Over Ravens

CINCINNATI — The Bengals beat the Ravens 32-14 on Thursday night in Joe Burrow's first game since Sept. 14.

Burrow though he'd be out until December. Instead, he returned for the primetime showdown in Baltimore and was close to coming back for Week 12 against New England.

“The plan all along was Buffalo,” Burrow told Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. “And then as we got closer to these games, it was feeling pretty dang good. And so then it moved up to tonight. And that would allow me to get two full weeks of practice in before this game. And those [practices] felt pretty good. And then we made the decision to think about it last week [against the Patriots]. And at the end of the day, I didn't, but I was prepared to.”

That Patriots game, a 26-20 Bengals loss, will go down as a major "what-if?" if the Bengals come close, but don't make the playoffs this year.

At 4-8, they need to win their next five games to have a chance.

When Burrow suffered the grade 3 turf toe sprain he had a completely healthy offseason. He was "bigger, faster and stronger." That's a trademark quote that Burrow shares every offseason.

He went on to play the most meaningful preseason football of his career. Couple that with a fully healthy training camp and he was ready to go.

Despite doing everything he could to have a healthy season, he went down in Week 2 anyway. It was his third major injury since entering the NFL and second in three years.

“Yeah, I'm just trying to find the fun in it again,” Burrow told Breer. “These last three years have been pretty brutal with two injuries, and then the season we had last year. It's been a while since I was able to have fun doing this. And so I'm just trying to find that again. And the only way I can do that is by playing. You're not going to have any fun by watching everybody else play. That's for sure."

As painful as this season has been, Burrow is back and is clearly one of the most valuable players in the NFL. The Bengals have won Burrow's last 8-straight starts dating back to last season, which ties a franchise record.

He completed 24-of-46 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns in his return. He didn't turn the ball over and was only sacked once.

It was a reminder of how great Burrow can be and what the Bengals are when he's on the field.

Check out Breer's entire breakdown of Burrow's recovery here.

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