Confession? I don't have a freaking clue how Joe Burrow's calf magically healed over the last two weeks. And I was certainly concerned Burrow might have forced things against the Cardinals last week in a "must win" spot and, similar to the fallout from his performance against the Rams, we might see a little injury regression against Seattle in Week 6. That wasn't the case at all, with Burrow looking downright spry at times, including an almost shocking scramble around with several Seahawks defenders chasing him.
The box score doesn't scream "explosive offense" -- Cincy won a grinder 17-13 -- but Burrow was efficient, looked healthy and, most importantly, the Bengals moved to 3-3 as they head into a much-needed bye week.
Burrow said earlier this week he felt "close to 100 percent" back from the calf injury and, quite frankly, I didn't believe him. Did this dude fly to Germany midweek to get some kind of Kobe Bryant knee treatment on his calf? The NFL on CBS crew passed along Burrow's explanation: rest, better diet, hydration and routine, basically.
Whatever happened, it's working. Burrow suffered the injury in training camp on July 27 -- it's been less than three months since the initial injury, but it feels like an eternity since those steamy summer days -- before tweaking his injured calf in a Week 2 loss to the Ravens. Things got so dark some lunatic fringe Bengals fans suggested throwing Burrow on injured reserve to "save the season."
Instead, Burrow worked through it and did just that without missing any time. Getting to .500 isn't the Bengals goal. They want to win the Super Bowl. But at various points already in this young season it felt like a possible lost year for Burrow and Co. Instead, they're heading into a Week 7 bye knowing Burrow will only get healthier over the next two weeks with massive matchups against the 49ers and Bills looming immediately after the break.
Ja'Marr Chase didn't follow up his Week 5 explosion with a repeat performance, but he did finish with six catches (on 13 targets) for 80 yards. Tyler Boyd stepped up with Tee Higgins hurt and the Bengals managed to move the ball pretty effectively without any semblance of a run game.
Burrow also is starting to push the ball downfield a more effectively, although his Next Gen Stats passing chart from this week was a little less vertical than last week's breakout game.
Still, the style of offense is a lot less concerning to me than Burrow passing the eye test from a movement perspective. He was completely hobbled in the pocket from Week 2 through Week 4. Scrambling wasn't even an option. The last two weeks he's been a different player, movement wise.
There is nothing easy about the Cincy schedule coming out of the break: They head to San Francisco in Week 8, get the Bills at home after that and then the Texans, Ravens, Steelers and Jaguars are on deck after that. Every single one of those teams is a playoff contender. But the Bengals with a healthy Burrow can run as hot as any team in the league and with a morbid sense of dread now replaced with renewed optimism, Bengals fans should go into every single game the rest of the season believing they can win.
Adios, Undefeateds
And just like that ... there were none. The 1972 Dolphins, the only team to ever go undefeated, can pop the champagne, and they're probably quite surprised they got the chance, considering the 49ers and Eagles both lost to backup quarterbacks in Week 6.
That's the modern NFL. Parity reigns supreme and on any given Sunday, Zach Wilson can take down Jalen Hurts despite his defense missing its top two cornerbacks (Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed were both out) and P.J. Walker can hand Brock Purdy the first loss of his career.
Reading too much into the actual losses is probably a bit silly, but when talking about the Eagles and 49ers, we have all season questioned the Eagles offense a bit and pointed out injuries are the Niners' biggest concern. Well, guess what ...
Philly didn't score a single point on its final seven possessions and nary a dent on the scoreboard in the second half. Jalen Hurts threw three interceptions, although at least one was fluky bad luck. It was a disastrous close to a very hot start for the Philly passing attack -- DeVonta Smith had a horrific drop that could have been a long touchdown as well. The pace and production shifts in Philly and Indianapolis with Shane Steichen's move certainly beg additional questions about the consistent viability of the Eagles offense. They'll be fine, but that was rough considering the injuries the Jets were battling on the back end of the defense.
The 49ers issues weren't really with the offense, per se, but more about going against a stout Cleveland defense in some fairly gnarly weather and ... everyone getting hurt. Deebo Samuel left the game, Christian McCaffrey left the game, it felt like several linemen were on the ground throughout the game. San Francisco's run game never got going, Brock Purdy finished just 12 for 27 and the Browns basically played keepaway, tried to keep the game close with Walker running the offense and steal a win.
Rookie kicker Jake Moody needed to convert a short field goal to win the game at the end, but pushed it right. If you told Kyle Shanahan everyone was going to be fine for the long haul health-wise he'd probably just take the L and move on. This team is fine, as long as it's healthy.
Detroit Rock City
Heading out on the road as a three-point favorite with the hype train building is a dangerous spot, but the Detroit Lions didn't flinch once on its business trip to Tampa Bay. The Lions didn't come alone either, with Jeff Darlington of ESPN capturing a HUGE crowd of Lions fans celebrating the win in the stands "well after the game ended" and getting a boss quote from Jared Goff.
I’ve seen a lot of opposing fan bases make noise for their team after a win — but the Lions might’ve topped them all today.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) October 15, 2023
Or as @JaredGoff16 said to me as he left the field, “Are you seeing this? Best fans in the f***ing league!”
This video is well after the game ended… pic.twitter.com/PyL8TtmLXQ
The Lions being good is great for the league and really great for their fans and guess what: The Lions are GOOD. I've written about them in here previously but after a letdown blip at home in Week 2 against Seattle, the Lions have been dominating inferior opponents.
David Montgomery out and the Bucs bottling up the run? No problem, Jared Goff will just uncork to his weapons in the passing game. Amon-Ra St. Brown returned from injury and racked up 12 catches for a 124 yards and a score. Second-year burner Jameson Williams was supposed to be finishing his gambling suspension this week and instead he was torching the Bucs deep for a long touchdown that gave Detroit a double-digit lead and put this game away.
We'll see what happens if the Lions have to play a high-octane offense, but this is a vastly improved defense from last year and the Lions look like a complete team. They belong in the same club as the Niners and Eagles, even if no one wants to admit it just yet.
Vikings still alive?
When the Vikings were both 0-3 and 1-4 it felt very much like their season was toast. Even more so when Justin Jefferson was knocked out for at least a month with a hamstring injury. They still might be toast. And Minnesota didn't lob out some magically inspirational performance during its 19-13 road win over the lowly Bears.
The run game with Alexander Mattison remained nonexistent. T.J. Hockenson, Jordan Addison and K.J. Osborn filled the Jefferson void nicely enough. Kirk Cousins was fine. Weather was a factor that hampered both offenses and Justin Fields got hurt so it's hard to say just how much the defense might have improved or if it was simply blitzing Fields (a weakness of his) and then getting a backup in bad weather.
Regardless, the Vikings are now 2-4. Their wins are against Carolina and Chicago so I don't want to overreact to anything. But all six of their games have been within one score this year. A season after going 11-0 in one-score games, they're dealing with some regression and more realistic results.
What intrigues me about this team is Cousins made it clear through pregame reports he's not going to waive his no-trade clause in order to let the Vikings ship him out, get some capital and tank for the future, if that's what they even wanted.
Monday night in Week 7 will feature the Vikes hosting the suddenly banged up, single-loss 49ers. That's not easy, obviously, but the Niners at least looked vulnerable on Sunday, so who knows.
After that? There are some seriously winnable games: the Packers (road), Falcons (road), Saints (home), Broncos (road) and Bears (home) is a stretch that could completely reinvigorate this season, just in time for Jefferson's return. Keep an eye on this team.
