The Cincinnati Bengals stare down their latest encounter with the Kansas City Chiefs facing questions about the entire offense, headlined by Joe Burrow.
Burrow and the Bengals went out and flopped in Week 1, generating just 10 points and 224 total yards in an upset loss to the New England Patriots.
This week, naturally, is the best time to reignite that Burrow vs. Patrick Mahones debate, so it’s worth pointing out that a recent “Get Up” episode on ESPN featured Ryan Clark and Domonique Foxworth debating which quarterbacks actually stand a chance against Mahomes.
For Foxworth, the easy answer was Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills.
“We’ve seen Joe Burrow do it in the postseason,” Foxworth said. “But Joe Burrow’s coming back off of kind of a questionable injury, a rare injury that we’re not so sure how it’s going to impact.”
Those injury concerns have understandably chased Burrow into the season. But he shot down questions about his surgically repaired wrist after the loss to New England.
There hasn’t been any indication on the film or in the form of reports that Burrow’s wrist is a concern at all. A variety of factors, such as a poor gameplan, missing Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase not practicing all summer and sheer rust likely combined to produce the bad showing.
For the Bengals, most concerning is yet another slow start under Zac Taylor. For them to avoid another 0-2 hole, it will take Burrow solving the team’s problems in just one game, as opposed to the sluggish first month fans are accustomed to seeing by now.