A Season Altering Loss In Baltimore
Injured Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) paces the sideline in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 11 game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. The Bengals fell to the Ravens, 34-20.
The Bengals, one of the NFL’s best teams over the last couple years, suffered a season altering loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, 34-20. They find themselves at an even .500 with a 1-5 record in the AFC and a 0-3 record in the division. With these stats, the Bengals’ road to overcome that may have just become next to impossible.
A glimpse of what Joe Burrow is dealing with on what the team now says is a right wrist injury: pic.twitter.com/nOW3qR0RhR
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 17, 2023
The severity of the injury is not yet known, but at first glance, the prognosis does not look great.
Here are our top takeaways from the loss to Baltimore.
The Bengals now find themselves with their backs against the wall
In 2021 and 2022, a healthy Joe Burrow was able to operate well enough that the Bengals cruised to two straight AFC Championship game appearances, the first of which resulted in a win and an appearance in the Super Bowl.
This year has been far from the same.
This season is likely lost due to the health of Joe Burrow. The calf resulted in a slow start to the season and now the hand. Bengals almost certainly fall to 5-5. Mentally preparing myself for it. #Bengals
— 🐅 (@stripe_city) November 17, 2023
Now, with Burrow potentially slated to miss extended time (all will be determined by an MRI on Friday, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler), the Bengals find themselves with their backs against the wall. When Jake Browning came in relief for Burrow, he was efficient, didn’t turn the ball over, and even threw in 40 rushing yards for good measure. However, he is a clear downgrade from Joe Burrow in the passing game, having only thrown for 68 yards in just over a full half of play.
On the bright side, Browning did come away from the game with his first career passing TD.
Jake Browning to Ja’Marr Chase Passing TD (1/6)
pic.twitter.com/XaJpGCtYML— NFL TD Videos (@NFLTDVideos2023) November 17, 2023
If Burrow misses extended time, the three options are for the Bengals to roll with Jake Browning, AJ McCarron, or a veteran free agent that could be signed in the next few days. Luckily, with the Bengals having nine days until their next game, a veteran free agent would have plenty of time to get up to speed on the Cincinnati offense.
The reality is that the Bengals’ backs truly are against the wall in the 2023 season. If they still want to contend for the playoffs, the time to figure out how to execute that plan is now.
The defense can’t let the team’s tough times dictate how they play
When Joe Burrow left the game in the second quarter, a massive sense of bleakness was felt throughout Bengals nation, both on and off the field.
In the time that Burrow was playing, the defense was holding its own, as they had only given up seven points through most of the first half. When Jake Browning was forced to enter the game, it seemed like the bottom fell out of the defense. Two quick passing touchdowns by the Ravens to close out the second half made the game go from 10-7 to 21-10 in a matter of minutes, and Cincinnati could not recover.
It was very clear that the Bengals sorely missed Sam Hubbard to help contain a high flying Ravens’ offense in this event.
#Bengals DC Lou Anarumo on playing run defense without Sam Hubbard: “He’s irreplaceable in that position.”
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) November 13, 2023
With both Hubbard and Burrow out, it seemed as if the defense felt it and gave up at times, leading to a few big plays that made the Ravens’ lead insurmountable.
In the event of a worst case scenario, preparation for 2024 should begin as soon as possible
The severity of Joe Burrow’s wrist injury will not be known until his MRI takes place on Friday. For the time being, though, the worst needs to be assumed.
Fellow Bengals' fans … we have to look at the bright side.
2024 will be a pretty good year for drafting Olinemen.
— Dave Biddle (@davebiddle) November 17, 2023
If Burrow’s injury turns out to be the worst case scenario and he misses extended time or even the remainder of the season, the Bengals would have no choice but to begin preparing for the 2024 season. It could see a very different roster, as Tee Higgins’ Bengals career beyond this season is far from certain, among other things.
Preparation for 2024 would also undoubtedly include mental preparation.
https://twitter.com/camlovessports1/status/1725367020076880198?s=46&t=vB54MT3mB4XJLNYxXtrE5g
Even with the 2023 season’s bad fortunes, the Bengals are still one of the NFL’s elite teams when they feature a fully healthy roster. They showed their sky high potential in spurts this season. If the 2023 season truly is lost and Burrow is in fact done for the year, the only thing they can do is prepare to return to form as one of the NFL’s elite teams in 2024.
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