Joe Burrow showed his calf was fully healthy by breaking four 49ers tackles on absurd scramble pass

The Cincinnati Bengals’ first six weeks of the 2023 season were unfortunately defined by one thing — the health of Joe Burrow’s calf. Frankly, with how ineffective a relatively immobile Burrow was, the Bengals were lucky to even sit at 3-3 before a well-timed bye.

Well, it seems that rest was just what the doctor ordered for Burrow and the Bengals. After two weeks without games, a clearly fully healthy Burrow was absolutely sparkling against the San Francisco 49ers’ vicious defense on Sunday. He resembled the special Burrow everyone remembered from the first three years of his NFL career, who helped lead Cincinnati to back-to-back AFC title game appearances.

If there were any remaining questions about Burrow’s formerly ailing calf, he answered them by breaking multiple 49ers tackles inside the pocket before launching a third-and-long dime to Tee Higgins.

How did @JoeyB pull this off?

: #CINvsSF on CBS
: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/nEU2DTzMMm

— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023

Oh my goodness. Yeah, I’d say that calf isn’t bothering him anymore.

Burrow was so dialed in against San Francisco that he completed his first 19 passes — a career-high thus far — and seemed generally unflappable against one of the NFL’s top teams. Burrow looking like an elite quarterback again is great news for the Bengals and awful news for everyone else in the AFC.