The Cincinnati Bengals pulled off the upset on Thursday night over the Pittsburgh Steelers, yes.
Right before kickoff, something almost as monumental happened: A new report confirmed Joe Burrow is on pace to return in mid-December.
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That report certainly painted the game in a different light before the opening kick.
For starters, with the win, the AFC North standings now look like this:
While both the Steelers and Bengals are 3-1 in the AFC so far, the Bengals are 2-0 in the AFC North, while the Steelers are 1-1. That’s a big deal for a Cincinnati team trying to keep its head above water.
There are currently six four-win teams in front of the Bengals, all sitting behind the 5-1 Colts in the AFC, too.
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Next? The Bengals stay home for two weeks, playing the 0-6 New York Jets and 3-2 Bears before going on a Week 10 bye. After the bye? Another date with these Steelers. The Bengals could be 5-4 going into that showdown.
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While onlookers can bemoan the fact Burrow got hurt during a super weak year for the AFC, that same poor state of the conference and division is the thing leaving the door open for a Burrow comeback to matter.
Make no mistake, the Bengals still need to fix some laughably bad defensive lapses in coverage and in terms of tackling fundamentals. They gave up two scores of third-and-10 or more and a 68-yard touchdown Thursday.
But when Flacco already looks this good in the offense while throwing for 342 yards and three scores, which opened up the running game for 142 yards on a 6.2 average, it’s safe to think Ja’Marr Chase and Co. can keep this team in almost any game.
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: What win over Steelers means for Bengals after Joe Burrow injury news