Joe Burrow has attacked his latest rehab after surgery on his turf toe injury with his signature competitive zeal. It's just a bummer that the Cincinnati Bengals failed him en route to his latest major ailment, and failed him while he was toiling away to return as soon as possible.
Burrow is teetering toward Andrew Luck territory as far as being a former No. 1 overall pick whose organization can't keep him healthy, or field a team competitive enough to flourish without him covering many warts. The difference is, Burrow won't retire early, That ain't in him.
But it's a shame that the Bengals are coming off a bye with a 3-6 record, especially in light of how ahead of schedule Burrow is to hit the field again.
Joe Burrow's pending return will have little impact on Bengals' fate
Fox Sports insider Jay Glazer provided some tidbits on Burrow's status on Monday, as the team announced his 21-day window to return from injured reserve was opened:
"Last week Joe Burrow told me he’s returning wayyyy sooner than was expected and gave me the timeline of “by Thanksgiving.” Now will start practicing on a limited basis. Absolutely unreal attack of rehab and response. At first medical people didn’t believe he’d be back before playoffs. Huggggge jump for him! He’s a G!"
Burrow returning to practice on a limited basis and being so far ahead of his initial, generously-estimated mid-December return to action is awesome. The fact that he's even in play to suit up for Week 13's Thanksgiving showdown against the division rival Ravens should do wonders for the buzz around that game.
Look at our beloved No. 9!! MISS YOU, JOE!
It’s been 57 days since he injured his toe.
— Dan Hoard (@Dan_Hoard) November 10, 2025
Joe Burrow is back on a practice field.#LFG #WhoDey pic.twitter.com/fXwQdNwmVu
It'd all be even more super-duper exciting if not for the harsh reality Cincinnati faces at this point in the 2025 campaign.
The truth is, the Bengals had their chance to seize control of their AFC North destiny the past two weeks. Joe Flacco led them to an upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers, who they'll face again in Week 11.
Flacco went nuclear against the Jets and Bears in consecutive starts after shredding the Steelers secondary. Problem is, the defense let up 86 points across those two games, both resulting in losses. Instead of being tied with Pittsburgh atop the division at 5-4, with a head-to-head tiebreaker in tow, Cincinnati sits at 3-6.
Meanwhile, Baltimore has rattled off three straight victories and are ahead in the standings at 4-5.
As phenomenal as Burrow is when he's healthy, this is all looking eerily similar to the 2024 season. Burrow played at an MVP level, yet the defense couldn't stop a nosebleed, and the Bengals finished 9-8 to miss the playoffs a second straight time.
It would take a 6-2 post-bye run just for Cincinnati to finish a game above .500. The remaining schedule includes facing the Ravens twice, a Week 12 tilt with the 8-2 Patriots, and a road game at Buffalo.
The Cincinnati Bengals now have the second-worst defense through 9 games by DVOA, since 1978. Only the 1979 49ers were worse.
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) November 3, 2025
Part of the issue: the Bengals have actually played one of the easiest schedules of opposing offenses. pic.twitter.com/vcKteBd4dA
How is this defense going to hold up against that caliber of competition? Whether it be Joe Cool or Joe Brrr, Flacco or Burrow under center for the good guys, is all but irrelevant.
So I love that Joe Burrow is going to play football again way sooner than anyone could've hoped. Will it really matter in the end regarding the Bengals' playoff hopes? Doubtful.