Bengals’ Burrow leaves game vs. Ravens with sprained wrist

BALTIMORE — Preliminary evaluations show that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a sprained right wrist during Thursday night’s 34-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, the NFL said. coach Zac Taylor.

Burrow did not finish the game after exiting in the second quarter. Afterward, he was seen wearing a multi-layered scarf in the locker room.

Taylor said Burrow fell on his wrist earlier in the game before appearing to be in serious pain after throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to running back Joe Mixon. It was Burrow’s last game.

“It looked like he sprained his wrist,” Taylor said. “I ran into it early in the game, then I felt it on the touchdown pass.”

Taylor had no further information immediately after the match.

It is unclear when Burrow first felt discomfort in his wrist. On his touchdown pass to Mixon, he was not contacted by any players but immediately crouched deep down the field. Burrow went into the team’s medical tent for a few minutes and returned to the sideline.

While attempting to warm up with light throws, Burrow dropped the ball several times at the end of his throwing motion. In one case, he fell to the ground before recovering to make another attempt.

After this sequence, he immediately ran to the visitors’ locker room.

Burrow completed 11 of 17 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. He was replaced by backup quarterback Jake Browning, who completed 8 of 14 passes for 68 yards and a late touchdown pass to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

Before the game, Burrow was spotted exiting the team plane wearing something on his wrist that looked like protective gear. Burrow had not been listed on the injury report during the week and Taylor said he was not aware of Burrow having had a wrist issue.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen anything about it,” Taylor said.

Taylor said he felt “absolutely” good about Burrow before the match.

“Look how he played in the first half,” Taylor said. “He did everything we needed him to do.”

Bengals center Ted Karras said halftime chatter was normal as Cincinnati faced a 21-10 deficit and Browning prepared to end the game.

“Don’t panic, I’m just making some adjustments, which we’ll come out with in the second half,” Karras said. I obviously didn’t run it [at] any level that would have won the game. »

Thursday marked Browning’s first high-leverage reps as an NFL player. An undrafted free agent out of Washington in 2019, he was on Cincinnati’s practice squad from 2021 until this year, when he won the backup job over Trevor Siemian in training camp.

His only pass in a regular-season game before Thursday was an incomplete pass late in Cincinnati’s 24-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the first week of the season.

But Browning, who has been consistent in his preparation in case he needs to step into a game for Burrow, was confident when thrust into action. Browning also had to be on standby earlier in the year as Burrow battled a nagging calf injury he initially suffered on the second day of training camp.

“I didn’t feel like I was out of place or anything like that,” Browning said after the game. “But I didn’t really feel that way either when I came in. I had a really good few years on practice squads, waiting for an opportunity.”

Taylor said he had no information on the extent of Burrow’s injury other than a two-second exchange in which he initially learned of the wrist problem. Taylor said he felt the team’s morale was not affected when Burrow left the game.

“I didn’t feel for a second like the wind was out of our sails and the guys were letting things happen,” Taylor said. “I feel like on defense, those guys were fighting at full speed.”

Burrow wasn’t the only significant injury Thursday. Starting cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt left the game with a quadriceps injury. Taylor had no definitive information on the status of the second-year defenseman.

Coming into the game, Cincinnati knew the stakes were high as the Bengals took on the division-leading Ravens (8-3). With Thursday night’s win, the Ravens earned a season sweep over the Bengals, while Cincinnati remains last in the division and will have an uphill climb in its playoff progression regardless of Burrow’s status.

Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd said the team had to rally together even as it dealt with Burrow’s injury.

“It hurts us a lot,” Boyd said. “He’s our best player. All we can do is continue to prepare, continue to move forward and just go out there and make plays for Jake any way we can.”