The Cincinnati Bengals returned to Paycor Field on Sunday night and handed the Buffalo Bills a 24-18 loss on their home ground. Joe Burrow led the offense to an explosive start, and the defense brought up the back of the night with two forced turnovers, cementing the Bengals’ fourth consecutive win.
Unfortunately, the 26-year-old suffered a finger injury during the game. When asked about the injury in the post-game interview by NBC’s Melissa Stark, he had a typical Burrow-ish response. Brushing away the concern about what happened to his finger, Burrow replied, “Yeah just a scratch. That’s football baby!” referring to the physical nature of the game where athletes constantly take physical hits. After all, Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the same field the last time the Bills and Bengals faced each other.
Joe Burrow speaks on the current state of this Bengals team.@melissastark | #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/kywoqwTgiB
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) November 6, 2023
Joe Burrow is also coming off the back of a calf injury, that saw him slow down significantly during the start of the season. In fact, it was reported that he was wearing a calf warmer during this game as well. When asked by Stark what he thinks he “can do now, that you could not do at the start of the season?” he hilariously replied, “Run! Run!” with a laugh.
Burrow drove the team 76 yards on the opening drive, connecting with Irv Smith Jr., which ended with a 7-yard TD drive. The QB completed all six of his passes on the drive for 65 yards. While he was ice cold at the start, Burrow delivered an outstanding performance throughout the game, amassing 348 yards and throwing two touchdowns on 31 of 44 attempts. Unexpectedly, it wasn’t Ja’Marr Chase – with just four catches for 41 yards – who was his go-to guy. Instead, Tee Higgins stole the spotlight by catching eight balls on nine tries for an impressive tally of 110 yards.
Joe Burrow Wins Against the Bills Despite Banged Up Finger
NBC showed a close-up of Burrow’s bloody fingertip with about six minutes left in the first half. However, the Cincy QB played through the game, not slowing down at all in the second half. The video showed a banged-up finger on Burrow’s throwing hand, with blood oozing out of the fingernail. According to experts, he suffered a nail avulsion and the medical staff could not numb his finger as that would affect his gripping and throwing capabilities.
Joe Burrow #RuleTheJungle
Right 2nd finger laceration just below nail vs. nail avulsion (ouch)
Painful but not much the medical staff can do besides maybe Toradol + small bandage.
If they numb/block his finger, he won’t be able to properly feel/throw the ball. pic.twitter.com/L1GAlrbblb
— Jesse Morse, MD (@DrJesseMorse) November 6, 2023
The injury became apparent when the Bengals called a timeout, and Burrow was seen on the sideline with his finger in his mouth. Even with the nasty injury, the Bengals’ QB didn’t seem to be fazed and managed to throw another touchdown pass, this time to Drew Sample. Remarkably, Burrow continued to play through the rest of the first half despite the finger injury, displaying no signs of discomfort. He didn’t sit out a single snap and successfully led the Bengals on a touchdown drive during their final possession of the half.
