Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals haven’t had the NFL season that they expected ahead of the 2025 campaign, and yet, the AFC North franchise only finds themselves two games out of first place in a division that has been riddled with key injuries throughout the year.
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Ahead of Week 11, Burrow was designated to return from injured reserve by the Bengals, which gives the star quarterback a realistic chance to play for Cincinnati in important games down the stretch as Zac Taylor’s team tries to qualify for the postseason. Burrow suffered a toe injury less than two months ago.
#Bengals QB Joe Burrow on if they are a playoff team:
"Our division is wide-open. We play Pittsburgh this week. Everything is in front of us. It's very rare our division looks like this, but it does this year."
Burrow says the only realistic path for them is winning the… https://t.co/5LKSbYHvHV pic.twitter.com/QTApt6M4CS
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 10, 2025
The Bengals, who currently sit at 3-6 on the year, still have seven AFC opponents on their schedule to round out the rest of their regular season slate of games, including matchups against all three divisional opponents. Their playoff chances may appear bleak at the moment, but with wins over the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers the team could be right back in the thick of the playoff conversation.
“Our diviison is wide-open,” Burrow told reporters Monday. “We play Pittsburgh this week. Everything is in front of us. It’s very rare our division looks like this, but it does this year.”
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At the moment, it’s unclear when Burrow will be back on the field, but
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