Joe Burrow's career-worst passing day no cause for concern

On Thursday night, Joe Burrow became the highest paid player in NFL history when he signed a record-breaking contract extension with the Cincinnati Bengals.

He did not exactly rise to that level of play on Sunday in a 24-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Burrow finished Sunday's game completing just 14-of-32 passes for a career-low 82 yards. It was a brutal showing by the Bengals offense, as they were unable to get anything on a rain-soaked Sunday against a Browns defense that made the quarterback's life miserable. 

As bad as Burrow and the Bengals looked on offense, it is still not something to be overly concerned with.

Aside from the weather causing havoc on the game, it is also important to keep in mind that Burrow did not play a single down of preseason football and still might not be 100 percent after injuring his calf early in training camp. 

This nearly exact same thing played out in the season opener a year ago as well.

If you back to Week 1 of the 2022 season, Burrow got the start after being limited in training camp after undergoing an appendectomy. He showed noticeable rust in his first start, throwing four interceptions and taking seven sacks in an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was only marginally better in a Week 2 loss against the Dallas Cowboys. 

But after shaking off that rust, he was outstanding the rest of the season, playing his way back into the MVP discussion and leading the Bengals to another AFC Championship Game. 

Sunday marked the perfect storm of events, involving a less-than-100 percent quarterback playing on the road in terrible weather conditions. 

Burrow has done enough in his career to earn the benefit of the doubt. Do not overlook him or the Bengals in future weeks. As soon he shakes off the rust the Bengals offense will be rolling again.