Joe Burrow had one of the worst games I've ever seen him play in the Cincinnati Bengals' 17-16 win over the Browns in Cleveland, but a Week 1 victory is a Week 1 victory. No style points is fine by me as long it's 1-0 to start the season.
But in fairness to Burrow, the man has to negotiate Myles Garrett and a ferocious Browns pass rush the likes of which Cincinnati can only dream of having on the field.
It's hard enough to deal with Garrett and Co. hounding you all afternoon, twice a year no less! But you know what makes it harder? When NFL referees, who are tasked to police the field and provide some protection for the players, perpetually promote a legal playing environment where defenders have free rein to attempt to remove Burrow's head from his body.
When will it ever be enough for Joe Burrow to earn a facemask penalty?
A picture is worth a thousand words. Just look at this beauty.
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— Joe Burrow Fan Club (@JoeyBClub) September 7, 2025
Remember that two-point conversion play in Baltimore last year? When a successful try would've landed the Bengals in the playoffs in the end, assuming the rest of the schedule played out the same way, or better based on the momentum generated from that would-be win?
Yeah. There's more where that one came from, too. See: Last season's matchup against the (lol) now-Micah Parsons-less Dallas Cowboys.
Facemask calls apparently don't apply to Joe Burrow during the fourth quarter of primetime games #Bengals #Ravens #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/Iff5ggCf0J
— John Breech (@johnbreech) December 10, 2024
If this happened to Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson...you name the elite quarterback, or even an above-average one. Those fan bases would have riots in the streets over the penalty itself, never mind if it wasn't actually flagged!
What's the polar opposite of preferential treatment? That's what Joe Burrow gets from the zebras. I would love to see anyone try to defend this. Burrow's pre-Week 1 press conference saw him call out officials, some of whom are repeat offenders when it comes to not calling the games in a balanced way.
Although Burrow was quite measured with his words in that presser, and the would-be penalty on Sunday likely wouldn't have had much of an effect on the outcome in the end, I just want to see fairness. This man is one of the faces of the league. His offensive line struggles enough to protect him as is. The least the refs could do is try to prevent the other team from beheading him, ya know?
Too much to ask? Probably. We'll see how the rest of the season unfolds. Just glad Burrow took the last snap in Week 1 and got the win. In the division, too. Awesome stuff. Keep doing your thing, Joe!