The Cincinnati Bengals should have protected Joe Burrow from himself, says Jeff Reinebold

Should the Cincinnati Bengals have sat Joe Burrow? Have they missed their opportunity? Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold discuss the star quarterback's nagging calf injury on the latest edition of Inside the Huddle...

Burrow has been a shadow of the MVP-contending quarterback expected to lead a Super Bowl charge heading into the 2023 season, nursing the effects of an injury that sidelined him for much of the summer.

The Bengals sit 1-3 through four weeks following a heavy loss to the Tennessee Titans, with Burrow having thrown just two touchdown passes to two interceptions and ranking 32nd in completion percentage within an offense that sits last in the league in yards per game.

• Is Daniel Jones the future in New York? 'I was shocked by new deal'
• Listen to all Inside the Huddle episodes
• Stream the 2023 NFL season with NOW for £21 a month for six months

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

"Think back to when he first injured that calf and Ja'Marr Chase came out and said 'don't come back until you're fully healthy because we need you down the stretch'," said Jeff Reinebold.

"Obviously he's a competitor, he wants to play, they want him on the field. But I think what we're seeing in the malaise that is the Cincinnati offense is partly because he's still bothered by that calf more than he lets on."

Burrow has maintained since the beginning of the season that he has been fit to play, this week insisting he feels the best he has been so far ahead of Cincinnati's Week Five matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.

"He can't move," added Neil Reynolds. "I thought he should have been sat early on and then footage emerges of him getting on the golf cart with (owner) Mike Brown and they do a circle and are talking and then Burrow gets off, I thought that was the owner saying 'we're going to pull you out of this a little while'.

"He's your leader and you want your leaders out there, the problem was they went 0-2 anyway. They could have gone 0-2 with him safely in rehab and now back he comes. Now they're in a hole and don't have a lot of room for error."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Burrow steered the Bengals to the Super Bowl during the 2021 campaign only to fall to the Los Angeles Rams, before lifting them within a game of a return when Cincinnati were beaten by the Kansas City Chiefs in last season's AFC Championship game. Having been a popular pick for MVP and to reach another Super Bowl, Burrow and the Bengals find themselves facing an uphill battle.

"One of the hard parts about coaching is you have to protect the players from themselves sometimes," added Reinebold.

"They are all alpha males, all ultra competitive, all want to be on the field - that's their masterpiece, their thing.

"But you've got to see past this week, especially when you talk about your franchise quarterback."

Week Five continues when the New York Giants face the Miami Dolphins live on Sky Sports NFL, with coverage under way from 5pm ahead of kickoff at 6pm, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles against the Los Angeles Rams and Sunday Night Football between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.