Bengals' Joe Burrow talks playing through calf injury

Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow opened up about playing through a lingering calf injury throughout the first half of a season that Cincinnati saved by winning three games in a row and four of the club's past five contests. 

"It’s tough when you have an injury and you’re playing through it," Burrow acknowledged while speaking with NBC Sports' Peter King shortly after Sunday's 31-17 win at the San Francisco 49ers that improved the Bengals to 4-3 on the campaign. "You obviously can’t do some things that normally you can. But we got through it. We got through it healthy and we’re on the other side now, it feels like. My strength is still coming along." 

Burrow dealt with his calf injury from the early days of training camp through last month and aggravated the issue during Cincinnati's Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 17 that dropped the Bengals to 0-2. The 26-year-old looked more like his elite self in October, however, and he completed 28-of-32 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday's win at San Francisco's Levi's Stadium. 

"In the offseason, I worked the most on athleticism and explosiveness and so it was tough to not be able to show that over the first couple weeks," Burrow continued during his chat with King. "I was able to show that today and it’s nice seeing hard work pay off." 

According to ESPN stats, Burrow is ranked 18th in the NFL among qualified players with a 50.3 adjusted QBR and 19th with an 87.5 passer rating. Across Cincinnati's first seven games, he tossed 10 touchdown passes and four interceptions. 

Meanwhile, the Bengals are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns in the AFC North standings. The Ravens lead the division at 6-2.

Cincinnati hosts the 5-3 Buffalo Bills next Sunday night. As of Monday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Bengals as three-point favorites for that matchup.