Bengals' Burrow has back tightness but expects to play vs. Texans

• 

  Ben BabySep 16, 2026, 05:05 PM ET

  Close

  Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).

CINCINNATI -- A back injury isn't going to keep Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow from playing this weekend against the Houston Texans.

Burrow is dealing with back tightness following the team's Week 1 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He made no significant throws during the open portion of practice and said he got in "mental reps" when asked about his workload Wednesday.

But the idea of not facing the Texans for precautionary reasons?

"That's ridiculous," Burrow said.

Burrow isn't sure when he sustained the injury but said he started to feel soreness in the hours following Sunday's game. He was only sacked once. However, he took a hard hit when scrambling for a first down. The play extended the drive that ended with a touchdown pass.

Even in hindsight, Burrow was OK with the result.

"I was comfortable with it," Burrow said. "It was either that or kick a field goal. It's a decision that I made."

The two-time MVP finalist has dealt with injuries during much of his seven-year career. Last season, a turf toe injury forced him to miss nine games in the middle of the season. It was his third time he had been placed on injured reserve.

Throughout the offseason, Burrow talked about an increased level of urgency heading into this season. After making deep playoff runs in 2021 and 2022, including a Super Bowl appearance at the start of that run, Cincinnati has missed the playoffs in each of the last three years.

His heightened expectations for this season will not play a role in his decision to play in Houston. "I think every game is important," Burrow said. "I'll do what it takes to be out there. If I'm not having surgery, I'll be out there."

Burrow is used to playing through injuries. In 2022, Burrow didn't miss any games despite undergoing an emergency appendectomy at the beginning of training camp that left him briefly hospitalized. The following year, Burrow also didn't skip any snaps despite suffering a strained calf in preseason that he reaggravated in Week 2.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, the three-time Pro Bowler said he is still trying to find the balance of when to take risks when on the field. In the season-opening win against the Buccaneers, Burrow was 25-of-35 passing for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception that was returned for a score.

"You have to think about the situation of the game, what kind of game are you in," Burrow said. "That's something I'm still working on for sure."

Last season marked the first time in Burrow's career that the Bengals started a season with two straight wins. But it came at a cost. On a play that was designed to be a quick pass, Burrow was sacked as he extended the play and his foot was caught in the turf at Paycor Stadium.

This weekend, Burrow and the Bengals will have a tough task against a Houston defense that features two premier edge rushers in Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr.

"We certainly have our work cut out for us," Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Wednesday. "They have elite talent across the board on their defense and it poses a lot of challenges for you."

If Cincinnati wins and Burrow doesn't sustain any significant damage, the Bengals will be off to the best start since Burrow was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2020. But that was far from Burrow's mind Wednesday afternoon.

"We're taking it one week at a time," Burrow said. "We're excited about the opportunity this week."