The Bengals have begun the 2023 season 0-2, but the worst part of the game might have been what Cincinnati fans saw at the end of the contest.
Quarterback Joe Burrow threw a touchdown to Tee Higgins to cut the Ravens' lead down to 27-24. Immediately following the reception, Burrow was seen hopping off the field, and immediately went to the bench where he used a theragun on his right calf.
Burrow had injured his right calf in the first days of training camp, and missed nearly the entire preseason as he worked to recover from the injury.
An injury to Burrow's calf could be detrimental to the Bengals' postseason hopes, particularly in a tough division after dropping to 0-2 to begin the 2023 season. Cincinnati will have an extended break before playing again, when it hosts the Rams on "Monday Night Football" in Week 3.
MORE: Latest injury updates on Odell Beckham Jr.
Here's the latest on Burrow's calf, and what it means.
Joe Burrow injury updates
Burrow's mobility has been clearly limited during the first two weeks of the season, and at the end of the game, it appeared he had re-aggravated his calf injury.
During his post-game press conference, Burrow confirmed that he had "tweaked [the calf] a little bit again," and said that he will "see where it is tomorrow."
On the sideline, Burrow could be seen using a walking, stretching and using a Hypervolt 2 Pro to massage his right calf. He said that if the Bengals had gotten the ball back, he would have planned to come back out for the next series.
With a long season still ahead, Burrow was asked if he would be considering taking time away to rest the calf rather than try to play through the injury. He said simply that he would "have to wait and see."
"I'm not sure how it's going to feel the next couple days," Burrow said. "It's pretty sore right now but no telling how it's going to feel so I think we're going to take it day-by-day."
What's wrong with Joe Burrow?
Burrow has certainly not appeared to be on his A-game to begin the season. Against the Browns, he threw for a career-low 82 passing yards on 14-of-31 passing, and the Bengals did not score a touchdown. Versus the Ravens, Burrow and the offense went another two quarters before scoring the first offensive touchdown of the season, when Burrow threw a touchdown to Tee Higgins.
The highest-paid player in the NFL, Burrow has clearly been hampered by his calf. He described the calf as something that's "always ongoing," and said he did not know if it would be an injury he'll be nursing all season.
"It's tough to tell. Tough to look into the future and see that," Burrow said. "I'm doing everything I can to get healthy and get that thing the way I need it to so I can go out and perform the way I need to to win, we'll see."
The calf injury cost him most of the preseason, which was time he could have spent re-establishing his connection with his receivers. And as Burrow noted, that has an impact on how he gets off to start the year.
"When your quarterback misses camp, it's tough to start fast," Burrow said after the loss. "It's not an ideal situation."
