Joe Burrow Was Great On Thanksgiving, His Answer To Why He Returned From Injury Was Not

Last night, with the half-opened and food coma-induced eyes of America trained upon him, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow made his triumphant return from injury.

And, as if he never left, Joey B put the team on his back and knocked the first-place Baltimore Ravens from their perch atop the AFC North.

His two passing touchdowns were just what the doctor ordered, breathing life into a Cincinnati team that was on its deathbed just days earlier.

The Bengals are still alive in the playoff hunt and have their MVP-caliber QB back in the fold for their stretch run.

That has to be the reason why Burrow returned last night, right?

I mean, he definitely saw this as a very small window to carry the Bengals to greatness this season and decided to be a warrior and make his comeback, right?

Right?

Alright, let me preface this by saying I have the utmost respect for football players' toughness, specifically Joe Burrow's.

I will never question this man's grit; he's one tough customer.

But that answer STINKS.

"We're getting paid a lot of money" is a fine secondary or tertiary reason for returning from injury, but would it have killed him to say something like, "My team needed me, and we are still in the playoff hunt?"

For crying out loud, NBC's sideline reporter Melissa Stark teed that one up on a silver platter for him.

She even threw in the "slim chance at the playoffs" just to make sure Burrow understood the assignment.

Alas, he did not.

I guess I'm in the minority though, as everyone else in the comments section seemed to lap up what Joe Cool was serving last night.

I get the sentiment from Burrow, and I can even applaud it, but he has to throw a bone to the fans who are still clinging to some slim hope that their team isn't dead in the water.

This is the same man who said the Bengals' Super Bowl window was open as long as he was around.

All I ask is to see a little bit of that fire from him.

I'm glad to see Joe Burrow back and healthy; the game is better with him slinging it around and snatching teams' souls.

I guess I was just expecting a different answer, that's all.