Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow Will Reportedly Have Toe Surgery
The Cincinnati Bengals will reportedly be without Joe Burrow for much of their season.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Burrow will need surgery for his toe injury suffered on Sunday and is expected to be sidelined for a minimum of three months.
Burrow was injured while being sacked in the second quarter of Cincinnati's 31-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. It's reportedly a Grade-3 turf toe injury.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said Burrow's injury is not necessarily season-ending, but he would likely be out until at least mid-December. The Ravens host the Bengals on Thanksgiving (Nov. 27) and travel to Cincinnati on Dec. 14.
Backup quarterback Jake Browning, who scored the winning touchdown with a 1-yard leap with 18 seconds left to play on Sunday, will take over as the starter. Browning threw three interceptions against Jacksonville but also completed 21 of 32 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns.
Burrow had season-ending injuries in 2020 (knee) and 2023 (wrist) that caused him to miss a combined 13 games. Cincinnati missed the playoffs in both of those seasons, and his teammates will hope that Burrow can recover as quickly as possible.
The Bengals are 2-0 and it remains to be seen if they will try to acquire another quarterback. Browning overcame adversity on Sunday to engineer a game-winning drive after making costly mistakes earlier.
"I had thrown three picks, and somehow we had a chance to win the game," Browning said via the Bengals’ website. "I can't be afraid of the fourth in that situation. The defense did a good job forcing a turnover on downs, so I had to be delusional and aggressive, because the moment called for it."
Up next for the Bengals are back-to-back road games against the Minnesota Vikings (1-1) and Denver Broncos (1-1).
"With the best-case scenario for Burrow being a return in mid-December — and even that being a very optimistic timeline — the hope would be the coaching staff can re-calibrate the offense around Browning's strengths and keep it performing solidly," The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Paul Dehner Jr. wrote.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Rookie's Special Teams Gaffe Leads to Loss
The Steelers have won many games thanks to big plays on special teams, but a gaffe played a vital role in their 31-17 loss to the visiting Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
The Seahawks were leading 17-14 early in the third quarter when Steelers rookie running back and kick returner Kaleb Johnson allowed a kickoff to bounce over his head and into the end zone.
Johnson didn't go fetch the ball, and the Seahawks recovered the kick in the end zone for a touchdown and a 24-14 lead.
"I just made a mistake," Johnson said, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. "Got to stick to it, move on, and just continue to get better every day."
Under the NFL's new dynamic kickoff rule, any ball that hits in the landing zone between the goal line and 20-yard line and goes into the end zone must be returned or downed by the receiving team. If it's not, it's a live ball.
Johnson declined to say whether he knew the rule or not, but teams around the league will likely be reviewing it with their team after the Steelers' screw-up.
"It's poor judgment by a young player," Head Coach Mike Tomlin said.
Cleveland Browns: Kevin Stefanski Is Sticking With Joe Flacco
Joe Flacco's return to Baltimore didn't go as well as he hoped, with two costly turnovers in the Browns' 41-17 loss. His interception was nearly returned for a touchdown by cornerback Nate Wiggins and his fourth-quarter fumble was taken to the house by linebacker Roquan Smith.
Rookie third-round pick Dillon Gabriel took over late in the fourth quarter and led the Browns on a seven-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. Gabriel went 3-of-3 passing, including a pretty 8-yard touchdown pass to running back Dylan Sampson.
However, Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski hardly entertained a question after the game about whether he'll consider a quarterback change.
"No," he said. "I don't think we did good enough. I think the collective 'we' as a team, 'we' as an offense, 'we' as a coaching staff, all of us didn't do a good enough job."
