Joe Burrow Is Dealing With Back Tightness Heading Into Week 2

Sports admin September 16, 2026 0 Comments

Joe Burrow Is Dealing With Back Tightness Heading Into Week 2

Beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 was a pretty good result for the Cincinnati Bengals. Though it might wind up not being worth it if they lose star QB Joe Burrow in the process.

On Wednesday, Burrow revealed that he is dealing with back tightness and had to skip practice today. He said that he didn’t know which particular play in the Bengals-Bucs game it came from and didn’t notice the pain until after the game.

As for whether he’ll practice later this week, Burrow couldn’t commit to a date that he’s return. However, he made it clear that it would be “ridiculous” to assume he won’t play on Sunday.

Who starts for Cincy this week?

As for his preparations ahead of Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, Burrow confidently stated that he’ll be able to get “mental reps” in even if he doesn’t have normal practice reps throughout the week.

In the event that the issue gets worse throughout the week though, 19-year veteran Joe Flacco is the backup and will presumably get thrust into the starting lineup.

Burrow was solid against the Bucs in Week 1. He completed 25 of 35 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown while throwing one interception and taking one sack. He also had 20 rushing yards.

After taking the lead over Tampa Bay midway through the first quarter, the Bengals never trailed for the rest of the game as the defense forced turnover after turnover on the Bucs and QB Baker Mayfield in particular.

Can the Bengals defense continue to force turnovers against the Texans in Week 2?

This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 4:34 PM.