Burrow said he was just drinking water, and if he picked it up “weird,” he wasn’t aware. He’s been seen flexing his wrist since his return to the field for the team’s offseason workout program, and said Wednesday it’s not a pain issue.
“Yeah, I’m doing that all the time,” Burrow said. “When you’re coming back from an injury, you’re always trying to keep the joint loose. That’s part of ligament injuries. If you don’t move it, you’re going to lose it, so I’m always moving it around, keeping it loose, keeping my mobility the way it’s supposed to be, so it’s going to continue to happen. I do it at home, I do it here, I do it all the time.”
Heading into a big game Sunday at two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City, Burrow is more focused on preparing than scrolling social media.
Burrow said the wrist “feels better this week than it did last week, than it did the week before,” and he was not hindered during Sunday’s game. He admitted there were a couple of plays where he did not take advantage of 1-on-1 opportunities to push the ball down the field, but he said there aren’t any throws he is not physically capable of making.
The questions about his wrist were the result of a 16-10 loss to New England in which Cincinnati went three-and-out the first three drives and Burrow didn’t attempt many passes beyond the sticks. Burrow suggested that maybe if the team performed better, fans wouldn’t be speculating so much about his wrist.
“I am focusing on the day-to-day trying to get better,” Burrow said. “We got better today. We had a really good practice. That’s part of playing quarterback in the NFL. You are going to get scrutinized if you don’t play up to the standard that you have set for yourself. I have set that standard for myself. I needed to go out there and hit that. I didn’t on Sunday.”
Credit: Brynn Anderson
Credit: Brynn Anderson
Burrow and the Bengals will have to play much better Sunday to avoid another 0-2 start, which has happened in three of the past four years.
The 2020 No. 1 overall draft pick has proven to get better with time as seasons progress, but whereas previous matchups with the Chiefs have come much later in the schedule, the Bengals don’t have the luxury of an opportunity to heat up first. Burrow said part of why he seems to start slow and then drastically improve might have to do with his ability to see more film on the defense further into the season.
Burrow said the Chiefs defense, which ranked among the best in the league last year, has evolved each season so they are showing different looks, changing leverages and funneling guys to help in different ways.
That will be a challenge to prepare for this week, but then Burrow also faces the task of making sure the offense can keep up with two-time league MVP Patrick Mahomes. Burrow has to be ready to adjust quickly.
“I go into every game the same and I’m ready to adapt quickly to what we’re seeing and what their offense is doing,” Burrow said. “I try to guage that pretty quickly in the game. Pat is one of one. He’s really, really exceptional extending the play and throwing on the move, trying to buy that extra tick for his guys to get open. He really understands the game. It’s always a big challenge going up against him.”
Burrow could be poised for success against Kansas City’s man coverage. He ranks first in ProFootballFocus (PFF) passing grade against man coverage since 2022, which makes for an advantageous matchup against a Chiefs defense that ranks second in man coverage rate. Burrow missed last year’s Week 17 matchup.
In the opener last week, the Patriots took away deep shots and gave away space underneath. Burrow might need to be more aggressive against the Chiefs, but he’s going to take unnecessary risks.
“It depends on the looks you are getting,” Burrow said. “If we’re getting 1-on-1, I need to take advantage of those opportunities. If we’re not, I’m not going to force things and throw interceptions. I’m going to take what the defense gives me, and that’s, in my opinion, part of why I’ve been so good. We can obviously do a much better job of taking advantage of those 1-on-1 opportunities, and there were a couple on Sunday that we didn’t, so we need to do a much better job of recognizing that, myself included, but I’m going to continue to play the game the way I feel I need to play to win the game.”
SUNDAY’S GAME
Bengals at Chiefs, 4:25 p.m., CBS, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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