After a long and arduous seven months without football, the NFL is finally back. The 2023 season got underway on September 7th as the Detroit Lions headed to Arrowhead Stadium and upset the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs. And that shocker was just the tip of the iceberg.
Four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers was the talk of the summer as he was traded from the Gren Bay Packers to the New York Jets. The MetLife Stadium faithful were rejoicing at the fact that they finally had a franchise quarterback that they could build their team around. However, just six minutes into his debut, the hopes of those fans quickly turned into despair when A-Rod was carried from the field with a season-ending ankle injury.
But Rodgers isn’t the only quarterback that has suffered in the opening weeks of the campaign. Here is a player who has proven his quality and that you shouldn’t panic trade away from your fantasy roster just yet.
Joe Burrow
Last July, the Cincinnati Bengals penned a lucrative deal with Betfred to become their official betting partner off the back of back-to-back trips to the AFC Championship game. Their new partner isn’t yet rated highly with this website, which is a company that rates them and other betting sites, however, that didn’t stop plenty of additional funding into the coffers at Paycor Stadium.
What did Cincy do with those additional bucks? They made Joe Burrow the highest-paid player in the NFL. However, neither he nor his team have made a great start to the new campaign.
In the Bengals’ opening game of the season, many had earmarked them as a lock on the road at their rival Cleveland Browns. What transpired though was nothing short of a disaster.
The Bengals were mauled by 24 points to 3 and quarterback Burrow can only muster up a paltry 82 passing yards. A second defeat of the campaign then followed at home to the Baltimore Ravens. However, if you are one of the unlucky few who drafted the 2019 Heisman winner, there is no need to panic just yet.
Familiar Territory
Last season, the Bengals started the new campaign in the exact same fashion. They were downed by the Pittsburgh Steelers on home turf in the opening game of the season, before falling to yet another defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys on week two. However, the Cincy faithful stayed with their team, and they were duly rewarded.
By week eight, the Ohio outfit had an even record with four wins and four losses and they were about to embark on a season-defining run. They would win seven straight games throughout the second half of the campaign, including picking up victories against Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs and Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccanneers. Those performances secured them a second straight AFC North crown, and they wouldn’t let up there.
In the postseason, they narrowly defeated the Ravens in the Wild Card round, before stunning the Buffalo Bills on the road in the Divisional Round, with Burrow delivering one of the all-time great postseason performances. The former LSU standout has recovered a season before, and this year, he will do it again. Trade him away at your peril.
