Cincinnati (4-8) travels to play the Buffalo Bills (8-4) on Sunday at Highmark Stadium, looking for a second straight win to follow last week’s victory at Baltimore in Burrow’s return from a Sept. 14 turf toe injury.
“I thought I did some good things,” Burrow said of his thoughts after watching the film. “I think second half, I was pretty lights out, really last half of the first half, too. First couple drives missed some that I normally hit, but when your O-line protects like that, you get back into the groove pretty quickly.”
The Ravens sacked Burrow just once, thanks to that improved protection from the offensive line. He also had a special insert in his shoe to provide security to his surgically-repaired toe, but it has taken some getting used to wearing.
Burrow said the carbon fiber plate and custom orthotic in his shoe are not comfortable, although they are helpful. He expects to wear the shoe for the rest of the season and probably longer.
“The shoe can’t bend,” Burrow said. “It’s because my toe can’t go backwards right now, still a little early for that, so just keeps it firm and not bending it back.”
“It was certainly a process to figure out what worked best for me and what was most comfortable and at the same time safe,” Burrow added. “But, we worked through that, and a lot of different people were involved and we got the right stuff.”
The shoe itself also is different from what he wore previously, but these ones give him enough space and stability to do what he needs to do. Burrow doesn’t need any special shoe when he’s just walking around or at home, and he tries to wear the protective cleat as little as possible.
That’s why he could be seen on the sideline wearing a sneaker on his repaired left foot in between drives.
“I take it off throughout practice every now and then, just to let it breathe and let it relax a little bit, and these (sneakers) are what I put on, so I figured I would keep it the same,” Burrow said.
Burrow completed just 24 of his 46 passes – a low completion percentage for him – but finished with 261 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns that proved vital to the outcome of the game.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The injury and the special cleat don’t have any impact on Burrow’s mechanics. It just goes back to being a little rusty early on, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said, noting some of the incompletions were also “really well-thrown one-on-one opportunities down the sideline” where receivers just weren’t able to make a play.
“I didn’t come away feeling like he threw the ball poorly,” Pitcher said. “I just felt like there were a couple plays in the first half that just was a guy that hadn’t played football in a long time. And he made some unbelievable throws to secure the game for us, so no concern on my end moving forward as far as that goes.”
Burrow did not hold back any emotion after the game, and on Wednesday, after reflecting further, he shared how special it was for him to even have a chance to play again this season. It was a meaningful win for him, and he plans to “continue to do great things” moving forward – starting again Sunday at Buffalo, where he experienced another significant win in snowy conditions during the second round of the playoffs at the end of the 2021 season.
“I just think, you know, I’ve been through a lot of these and haven’t had a chance to come back in the middle of a season like this, from any of the other ones that I’ve had, and so this one has been special to me,” Burrow said. “You know, I worked really hard to come back and try to give myself an opportunity to get out there, not just me. A lot of people worked hard for it, and to be able to have a moment like that in front of the world on Thanksgiving that was special.”
“The more things you go through, especially when it’s the same thing over and over again, and you continue to overcome it. I’m gonna continue to do great things and play well. At least that’s the plan. These (moments) will be in the rearview mirror at some point, but right now, it’s pretty fresh, and it’s something I’m proud of.”
NEXT GAME
Who: Cincinnati at Buffalo
When: 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 7
TV: FOX
Radio: 104.7-FM, 700-AM
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