Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals clinched the AFC North crown in Week 17 with a thrilling win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Yet there was some concern at the end of the game that he suffered a leg injury.
The Bengals were running down the clock with some quarterback sneaks and Burrow had to leave the field after seemingly being in pain.
He has not reported any injury, but his status for Week 18 has been in question for days.
Burrow revealed Wednesday that he will in fact miss the season finale against the Cleveland Browns.
#Bengals QB Joe Burrow tells reporters that he will not play Sunday to rest up for the playoffs. Expect several key Cincy players to be in similar situations.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 5, 2022
This makes sense even if Burrow wasn’t banged up.
Bengals Making The Smart Move
There is absolutely no reason for Burrow to play against the Browns.
Baker Mayfield is out as well and the Browns will have backups in on both sides of the ball.
That only increases the risk of someone trying to make a big play and potentially injuring Burrow.
The Bengals enter Week 18 as the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoff picture.
They can still clinch the top seed, but can also only fall as far as the fourth spot.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor just announced that he is resting QB Joe Burrow on Sunday against the Browns.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 5, 2022
They can also likely beat the Browns without Burrow, given the tailspin Cleveland is in right now.
Fans must also remember that this is the quarterback’s first full season in the NFL.
He entered 2021 just off recovery from a massive knee injury suffered during his rookie season.
Giving him some rest before his first postseason start is not going to have any negative effects.
Bengals fans should also be relieved after witnessing Burrow getting drilled at the end of last week’s game thanks to Zac Taylor’s unique strategy to run out the clock.
Adding an extra game to the schedule meant more rest was going to be needed.
Burrow did his job and did it well all year so getting one game off, against a free-falling Browns team, should not have fans concerned at all.
