The Cincinnati Bengals made star quarterback Joe Burrow the highest-paid player in NFL history earlier this week. And just days later, Burrow had perhaps the worst game of his career in the team’s season opener against the Cleveland Browns.
The conditions for the game between the Bengals and Browns were extremely tough, as it rained throughout the game which hampered the passing game of both teams.
However, you would expect the Bengals led by a great quarterback like Burrow to be able to fight through this and get their offense going at some point in the game.
That was not the case, as the Bengals’ offense struggled all day. Burrow and the passing game were lifeless, as he only recorded 82 passing yards in the game while completing only 14 of 31 pass attempts. They would go on to lose the game 24-3, an extremely embarrassing loss to start the year.
Joe Burrow's first game as the highest-paid player in the NFL:
14/31 Comp/Att
82 Yards
0 TD
52.2 QB Rating pic.twitter.com/mldLl8XtMY— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 10, 2023
There is no doubt that the Bengals’ offense should bounce back from this. But fans were not pleased with his play considering all the money he just got from the Bengals organization.
Joe Burrow after signing his extension: pic.twitter.com/jW3mNmf8CA
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) September 10, 2023
Joe Burrow disasterclass pic.twitter.com/kWKFZ47HHV
— Austin (@ChefTrillie) September 10, 2023
Joe burrow after he got paid pic.twitter.com/VR2VmIYlyg
— Yankeebol #FireCashman Jake Hirst RBW (@Yankeebol1) September 10, 2023
Joe Burrow has been pulled from Sunday's game.
His 82 passing yards are a career-low and dead last among all 16 QBs who started in the early games. pic.twitter.com/QNg5AtjM0F
— Underdog NFL (@Underdog__NFL) September 10, 2023
Joe Burrow fans after his week 1 performance pic.twitter.com/8JdmOderGw
— Truth Takes (@truthsportakes) September 10, 2023
It’s hard to understate just how poor Burrow played in this game. His 82 passing yards and 52.2 quarterback rating for the game were both career lows since his NFL debut in 2020.
Burrow spoke to the media after the game, where he clearly seemed to believe that this game was an anomaly.
“Yeah, nobody is panicking here you guys,” said Burrow. “Week 1 doesn’t define anybody’s season. Obviously, not very good out there. But anybody that watched say that. We have been in this spot before and come back stronger and had great years. So that is what we’re going to do.”
"Week 1 doesn't define anyone's season." Joe Burrow pic.twitter.com/GARB9v4M68
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) September 10, 2023
Burrow and the Bengals will look to put this ugly loss behind them and will get the chance to do so in Week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens.
