Blaming Joe Burrow for injury woes is rock bottom for sports hot take culture

Anyone who has the gall to blame Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow for his persistent injury issues falls into one of two main camps. The first is that of the lazy hot take artist who doesn't watch the actual film. The other is that of the professional troll who's willfully ignorant.

Whatever the case may be, the rage/engagement baiting abound in the aftermath of Burrow's turf toe injury is the epitome of hot take culture run amok in sports. Not that every single sack or bad play absolves Burrow of any blame, but it's ridiculous to suggest he hasn't made the absolute best of his situation in Cincinnati overall.

Whether it's Haterade-chugging talking heads, fans on social media, or those most dialed in to everything Bengals, we need to agree that the "blame Burrow" injury slogan must be retired.

Joe Burrow narratives reach new low in blaming Bengals QB for injuries

Rather than flood this article with a bunch of X/Twitter comment thread fodder, one post from a fan stood out to me:

"Our fans are too scared to admit it, but some of this is on Burrow too. For years now he’s been holding onto the ball way too long in an effort to make something out of nothing. It’s added to the already ridiculous amounts of hits he’s had to take without holding onto the ball."

If you don't buy the notion that a not-insignificant number of Bengals fans and/or NFL casuals are blaming Joe Burrow for getting hurt so often, look no further than this breakdown from ex-Cincinnati Bearcat QB Tony Pike. He felt compelled to comb through the play Burrow was injured on in painstaking detail to put the absurd assertion to bed.

It's not as if the Bengals failed to realize that their offensive line needed an upgrade ever since Burrow went down with a devastating knee injury in his rookie year. It's just that they haven't executed, or brought in good-enough players to keep Burrow upright nearly often enough.

The following two stats will do a lot of heavy lifting to underscore how Cincinnati's brain trust has stacked the deck against Burrow with poor pass protectors year in and year out.

The defense hasn't been a huge help in the last two-plus seasons in particular, either. Zac Taylor is always going to err on the side of putting the ball in No. 9's hands when constructing his offense. That predominantly one-dimensional approach is only exacerbated when the Bengals have often trailed in games and had to air it out even more to keep the score close.

I'll say it till the cows come home: Taylor and the coaching staff seem allergic to introducing any horizontal elements to the rushing attack. That makes the scheme predictable and easy for defenses to diagnose. A steady dose of inside zone runs with very few variations. Chase Brown has had 37 carries for 90 yards through two weeks. That's 2.4 yards per pop. Not anywhere near good enough.

So while I empathize with how difficult it is for the o-line to engage in so many true pass sets, they're not helping themselves by failing to win at the line of scrimmage when Burrow does hand it off. Why Taylor doesn't incorporate more jet sweeps or an occasional Deebo Samuel-style backfield cameo for Ja'Marr Chase is truly beyond my comprehension.

Anything the Bengals can do to diversify their game plan in running the ball would only help Burrow, or now Jake Browning, so that they aren't under siege just about every other dropback.

Here's another interesting piece of data from PFF's Timo Riske, which appears to buy the notion that Burrow is somehow to blame for the blockers in front of him.

"Bengals OL combined pass blocking grade yesterday

w/ Joe Burrow in the field yesterday: 49.9
w/ Jake Browning on the field: 73.1

In 2023 it was 67.2 with Browning and 54.6 with Burrow.

It's a weird paradox that Burrow is much better, but his play comes with diminished returns, because the Bengals OL just can't deal with his offense."

Good time to scroll back up and watch Pike speak his mind. Quite the effective retroactive rebuttal. "Just can't deal with his offense" makes it sound like Burrow is some stubborn know-it-all who refuses to play any other way. How about an alternative take?

Isn't it possible that maybe, just maybe, Joe Brrr realizes that because the o-line is so poor, and because they can't run block to save their lives at the minute, letting him cook while absorbing immense punishment is the only way for the offense to consistently thrive with their given personnel?

Browning stood in for Burrow back in 2023 and led the Bengals to a 4-3 mark in seven starts. He should at least be serviceable. That said, Cincinnati is running Chase Brown plenty, and it ain't working. In obvious passing situations, the o-line is a liability. Taylor's playbook that lacks many exotic play designs doesn't help the cause.

It's a wonder Burrow has kept the Bengals offense humming at the rate it has for just about all of his career when healthy. Hopefully the organization can learn from all the injuries and scouting missteps to position him for more success than ever once he finally returns to the field.

Until then, prayers up for Jake Browning. If the first couple weeks, Burrow's entire starting tenure and the "blame Burrow" discourse are any indication, he'll be under tons of duress from on-field opponents and off-field critics alike.

More Bengals News and Analysis