Cincinnati Bengals Zac Taylor and the organization ultimately decided to not activate quarterback Joe Burrow for Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots.
And the 26-20 final that came down to the final moments makes the decision sting all the more.
By all accounts, Burrow was ready to go. But the Bengals didn’t want to subject or risk Burrow to the wear and tear that comes with playing two games in five days.
Taylor confirmed as much in his postgame presser: “We’ll see. I’m not going to declare anything for Thursday yet. I thought he put himself in a great position to be ready to play this weekend, and the best decision for us was to wait a couple more days.”
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The wear and tear argument makes a lot of sense, of course. But if Burrow is good to go on Thursday, it stands to reason he was good to go on Sunday.
Now, the conversation turns to Thursday, which Taylor also addressed after the loss to New England:
“Winning is important. We want to win, and Joe gives us a great chance to win. Again, (Joe) Flacco has given us every opportunity. We haven’t lost games because of Joe Flacco. He’s gone out there and given us everything, and he understands that. That being said, we’ll also be excited to watch Joe Burrow. I’ve watched Joe Burrow now for six years and seen the things he can do as well. Again, he’s worked really hard to get himself back. He’s a football player. He wants to play football. We want to win football games, so that will lead into that decision.
No matter what the Bengals end up doing, Taylor and the organization will fall under intense scrutiny. Nearly beating the nine-win Patriots (now 10) but falling short is brutal in hindsight.
And now, throwing Burrow out there at 3-8 against a stingy Baltimore defense is a tough sell. Onlookers know Burrow wants to play, but there there must be some consideration for the future, too.
No matter what they decide, Taylor won’t escape criticism for the idea that Burrow would’ve helped beat the Patriots on Sunday, even if the decision came from a good place of wanting to protect his quarterback.
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Zac Taylor, Bengals paid big price for keeping Joe Burrow out vs. Pats
