On Thursday, Joe Burrow became the highest-paid player in NFL history. On Sunday, he looked like the exact opposite of a franchise quarterback.
Burrow and the Bengals struggled immensely in Week 1, dropping a 24-3 contest to the Browns. The offense failed to get into the end zone at all, as the Cleveland defense gave the Cincinnati fits all day en route to a crucial AFC North victory.
The game got so out of hand that Bengals head coach Zac Taylor pulled Burrow from the game with five minutes to go, replacing him with backup Jake Browning for the final two drives of the game.
"Nobody is panicking in here ," Burrow said after the game. "Week 1 doesn't define anyone's season. Obviously, not very good. Anybody that watched saw that. We've been in this spot before and we've come back stronger and had great years, so that's what we're going to do."
The loss also follows a similar trend for Cincinnati and Burrow to start off seasons. In the last four season openers, the Bengals are 1-3, with Burrow at the helm in all four of the games.
The disappointing performance out of Burrow comes three days after he signed a five-year, $275 million contract to stay in Cincinnati as the franchise QB. While the past has shown that Sunday's poor showing was likely just a blip on the radar, it's not the way the Bengals — or Burrow — anticipated his first start to go after receiving his big check.
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Joe Burrow stats today
Burrow had one of the worst performances of his career to open the 2023 NFL season.
The Bengals QB completed just 14 of his 31 pass attempts for 82 yards and no touchdowns, finishing with a quarterback rating of 52.2. His passing yards and passer rating were both career-lows.
Burrow could not find a rhythm with his wide receiving core. Star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase brought in five of his nine targets, but only for 39 yards, and Burrow targeted Tee Higgins eight times, but the lanky wide receiver came up with no receptions.
The longest play through the air on the day was a 12-yard catch to Chase on Cincinnati's opening drive.
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What happened to Joe Burrow?
Burrow was removed from the game with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter and the Bengals down by three touchdowns. Browning replaced Burrow at quarterback and proceeded to go three-and-out before taking a knee on the final drive to end the game.
Considering the fact that Burrow missed a majority of the preseason with a calf strain, the decision to take him out likely was more out of precaution than punishing him for his bad showing.
With the game out of hand, there was no reason for Taylor to leave his multi-millionaire QB in the game against a Browns' defensive line that already had sacked him twice and hit him a number of other times.
Myles Garrett gets home on 4th down!
— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2023
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Joe Burrow record vs. Browns
Burrow dropped to 1-5 against the Browns with the Week 1 loss. He has never beaten the Browns in Cleveland.
As a rookie, Burrow lost his first two games against the Browns in 2020, both being high-scoring affairs that Cincinnati dropped by a single score. The first was 37-34, then a 35-30 decision followed.
In 2021, Burrow and the Bengals were blown out by their division rivals 41-6 in stunning fashion. The two sides played in the season finale of that season — a 21-16 win for the Browns — however, Burrow did not play. Instead, it was Brandon Allen as the QB for the Bengals.
Last year Burrow dropped his fourth consecutive matchup against the Browns in Week 8, losing 32-13. A few weeks later and the LSU product finally got his first win over Cleveland, leading Cincinnati to a 23-10 win in Week 14.
The Browns and Bengals will meet again in Week 18, as the two sides are set to finish the regular season against one another.
Joe Burrow contract
Burrow and the Bengals agreed to a five-year, $275 million contract to stay in Cincinnati as the face of the franchise, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history in the process.
He will make $55 million per year under the new deal, and is guaranteed to receive $219.01 million of the deal.
