Joe Burrow injury: Bengals QB heads to medical tent after hard hit vs. Steelers

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow headed to the medical tent on Saturday night after taking a hard hit against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Burrow was lying on the ground for a few minutes before making his way off the field and into the Bengals’ medical tent on the sidelines.

Here’s the play as he was slowly driven into the ground by Cam Heyward and Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig.

Joe Burrow went down on the field after this. He was in pain, but he ran off of the field. He’s OK, Bengals fans. pic.twitter.com/RloBJtOPV7

— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) January 5, 2025

Shortly after going into the tent, Burrow was out on the Bengals bench and looking at his tablet. He appeared to be fine. Burrow ended up finishing the game for Cincinnati and coming away with a 19-17 win, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive. He completed 37 of 46 passes for 277 yards, while tossing in one touchdown and one interception. Following the game, he told ESPN’s Lisa Salters that he’ll be fine, even though the hit “didn’t feel great.”

He once again proved his remarkable toughness, making sure he was on the field when his team needed him the most in a must-win game. After leaving the medical tent, he made some crucial throws to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and tight end Tanner Hudson on a drive that pushed the Cincinnati lead to 19-7 with 11:02 remaining in the game.

Burrow put together a spectacular 2024 campaign despite recovering from a pretty serious wrist surgery that he had in the off season. He completed 69.8% of his passes for 4,641 passing yards, while tossing in 42 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. Individually, it’s the best season of his NFL career thus far, but it could come at a time when the Bengals miss the playoffs. That will be determined on Sunday.

Cincinnati did their part to stay in the playoff mix. In a must-win game, they were able to stave off the Steelers on Saturday night. The Bengals won their fifth straight game, and the Steelers lost their fourth straight. Now, Cincinnati will have to hope that both the Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins lose on Sunday. If that happens, the Bengals (9-8 overall) will have the seventh and final playoff seed in the AFC.

The Steelers (10-7 overall) are already in the playoffs. But they’re struggling as they enter the postseason.