Joe Burrow and the Bengals Shift Focus to the Regular Season

The 24-year-old made his 2021 debut on Sunday.

Joe Burrow saw action in an NFL game for the first time in 40 Sundays during Cincinnati’s preseason finale against the Miami Dolphins.

He received a standing ovation from the crowd at Paul Brown Stadium as he joined the huddle to start the first offensive series of the game. Burrow suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his knee last November.

Burrow took three snaps from under center. First, he handed it off to Tyler Boyd, then he threw a jailbreak screen to Ja’Marr Chase, and he handed it off to Joe Mixon 5-yard. Three quick plays and he was a spectator for the rest of the game.

“I think it was beneficial for the whole group [starting offense], whole team to play for just three plays,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “Nothing significant from a scheme standpoint. We were going to be very cautious there, obviously. But I think it was good for that whole entire offensive group.”

The 24-year old feels good to be back, but his primary focus is the team moving forward to Week 1. Burrow likes what he’s seen throughout training camp from the offense and is encouraged by the offensive line.

“Those guys [offensive line] have put in a lot of work to get better,” Burrow said. “It’s really exciting where those guys are at. Having a veteran like Riley (Reiff) up there makes a difference. A guy that you feel in the huddle and feel on the line of scrimmage. I think all of their hard work is going to show off this year.”

Burrow will need the offensive line to keep him upright so he can improve on an impressive rookie season that was cut short due to his knee injury.

As part of the NFL’s new 17-game regular season and three-game preseason, all teams have an extra week between the preseason and regular season. Burrow is looking forward to the benefit an extra off-week prior to the season will bring.

“I think we need this week,” the quarterback said. “For our bodies and our minds to take a step back then come back ready to go the next week [Week 1 of the regular season].”

Cincinnati has to cut their roster to 53 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. The team will spend the next couple of weeks getting ready to start the season as they open at home against the Minnesota Vikings on September 12th at 1pm ET.

Make sure you bookmark AllBengals for the latest training camp news, including exclusive interviews, highlights and so much more!

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