The Cincinnati Bengals' season now hinges on a comeback that is bigger than motivation, it’s a necessity. After navigating nearly three months without their franchise quarterback, the Bengals are finally welcoming back Joe Burrow, who is set to start Thursday night on Thanksgiving against the Baltimore Ravens.
Burrow has missed the previous nine games battling turf toe, an injury that landed him in surgery on Sept. 19 and put Cincinnati’s playoff aspirations under extreme strain. Burrow is now practicing without limitations and marching back into primetime.
Those developments prompted a direct reaction from head coach Zac Taylor, who was asked about how the building responded when Burrow returned to practice.
“He’s a great player, it’s exciting to have him back,” Taylor told reporters via Cincy Jungle.
Taylor didn’t speak about stats, or schemes, he spoke about impact and aura, outlining Burrow’s influence on the team’s emotional baseline.
The coach’s words weren’t a scouting report — they were a pulse check, as he also expanded on the psychological lift immediately felt in preparation.
“Obviously, when you have one of the greatest players in the world coming back, there’s a boost,” Taylor added.
The stretch ahead, with six straight games to close the year, leaves no room for moral victories. He was explaining why the locker room feels different now compared to the uncertainty that followed Week 2.
Since Burrow arrived as the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, he’s repeatedly shown why the Bengals viewed him as a generational investment. But the years following his rookie contract window have told a conflicting story, Cincinnati hasn’t consistently delivered the roster support required to stabilize their QB’s brilliance week after week.
Burrow’s career profile is already stacked with resilience checkpoints. As a rookie, his promising launch was derailed by a severe knee injury.
Since then, appendectomies, muscle setbacks, wrist damage, and ligament tears have created a highlight reel of disruption followed by return. Cincinnati opened Burrow's 21-day practice clearance window on Nov. 10, marking his first real green light toward activation.
Now, Thursday becomes the Bengals’ loudest measuring stick yet, and in the final game of the NFL’s Thanksgiving Day tripleheader, Cincinnati (3-8) will take on Baltimore (6-5) at M&T Bank Stadium. The kickoff is scheduled at 8:20 p.m. ET.
