Cincinnati ain’t Baton Rouge.
And that may be why the Bengals have been so good at avoiding COVID-19. At least that’s Joe Burrow’s theory as to why Cincinnati has just one player on its COVID-19 list.
“Fortunately,” Burrow said, per ESPN, “there’s not a ton to do in Cincinnati.”
At a time when the pandemic has drastically affected the rosters teams are putting on the field each week, that’s turned into a competitive advantage. If the Bengals don’t have players who are hitting the town, then they’ll have fewer players coming down with the virus.
It’s a rare, if backhanded, win for small markets.
“Nobody is going out to clubs and bars and getting COVID every weekend,” the 25-year-old Burrow said.
It should be noted that the correlation here is shaky. The Browns, for example, play in a similarly sized city in the same state and have been rocked by COVID, with their game this week getting postponed so they could field a roster. If you want to find a bar, you can find one — yes, even in Cincinnati.
But at 8-6 and in first place in the AFC North, the Bengals will take whatever advantage they can get. And right now, avoiding COVID is as big an advantage as they come.
“We’re still a healthy team, which not a lot of people can say at this point of the season,” Burrow said. “We’ve been lucky as far as injuries and COVID.”
The same can’t be said for their opponents this week. The Ravens, who are tied for first in the division, have lost three in a row and didn’t have Lamar Jackson last week.
Jackson’s availability for Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff in Cincinnati is still a question, though backup Tyler Huntley impressed against the Packers last week.