Patriots will reportedly avoid facing Joe Burrow in Sunday’s Bengals matchup

New England Patriots

It initially appeared that Burrow was going to play in Sunday’s game earlier this week.

By Conor Roche

November 22, 2025 | 10:43 AM

2 minutes to read

The Patriots will go up against a Joe at quarterback when they face the Bengals on Sunday, but it won’t be the Joe who led the league in passing yards and touchdowns last season.

Quarterback Joe Burrow won’t be activated from injured reserve by the Bengals ahead of Saturday’s 4 p.m. deadline, making him inactive for Sunday’s game against the Patriots, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. Joe Flacco will get the start at quarterback for Cincinnati instead.

Earlier this week, it appeared that Burrow was set to come back sooner from his turf toe injury than expected and play Sunday’s game against the Patriots. He was a full participant at Wednesday and Thursday’s practices, which is typically a good sign for a player’s availability for an upcoming.

However, Burrow was limited at Friday’s practice and was later listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor later told reporters that while Burrow “looks great,” he has to take into account that the Bengals are playing two games in five days as they face the Ravens on Thanksgiving Day.

“We’ll take the time we’ve got, assess all the practice we’ve had this week,” Taylor said. “He’s done everything he can to try to put himself and get ready to go. Now I have to make a decision on what we do.”

Burrow suffered the toe injury in the Bengals’ win over the Jaguars in Week 2. At the time, it was reported that Burrow was expected to miss three months, but reports recently emerged that said he was targeting a Thanksgiving return.

The Bengals have struggled without their star quarterback this season, going 1-7 in the games Burrow’s missed. But Flacco has given Cincinnati solid play since it traded for him in October, throwing for 1,453 yards, 12 touchdowns, and three interceptions with a 96.2 passer rating over five games.

Still, the Patriots avoiding Burrow is another break they’ve caught before Sunday’s game. Star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase will also miss Sunday’s game due to a one-game suspension he received for spitting at Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey in last week’s loss.

That’s certainly welcomed news for a Patriots’ defense that’s been pretty inconsistent at stopping the pass this season. New England’s defense ranks 17th in passing yards allowed per game (215.9).

The Patriots, though, have also set up a plan to slow down Flacco as they seek to extend their win streak to nine games.

“The stuff that they’ve always done and will do is going to remain the same,” Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters about gameplanning for both quarterbacks. “Joe’s [Burrow] probably, or is, more mobile than what Joe [Flacco] is. Both are going to run the same concepts and the same plays and look to try to get the ball in the same places.

“I would imagine that Joe [Burrow] being a little younger, he’s going to be a little bit more mobile, but we’ll have to be ready for whatever happens Sunday.”