4 reasons why the LA Rams could complete NFC West sweep for Week 3

Reason IV: Joe Burrow playing when he shouldn't be

How important is this Week 3 game to the Cincinnati Bengals? Well, important enough to put a wounded Joe Burrow under center when he really ought to be recovering from a strained calf injury. The odd part of any decision to start Burrow against the LA Rams is that many Bengals fans would rather the team sit him and have a fully healthy Joe Burrow playing later in the season than risk even further aggravating his injury.

How bad off is Burrow? Well, here is a pretty good summary:

That seems to be compelling enough reasons to sit Burrow in Week 3. Has Burrow been able to play through the pain?

Injury clearly impacting Burrow's performance

Okay, so has it affect Burrow so far this season? You bet it has. In two games, Burrow has thrown 41 completions in 72 attempts for 304 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. And he has been sacked three times.

Just for comparison purposes, Stafford has thrown for 307 and 334 yards respectively. So the Bengals are not exactly getting a peak-performing Joe Burrow by starting him in Week 3. In fact, Burrow's 56.9 percent completion rate is by far the worst mark of his four-season NFL career. So why would the Bengals elect to play an injury-hampered quarterback against the LA Rams? Since 1966 (the modern Super Bowl era), only six teams that have started 0-3 have ever made the NFL Playoffs.

The Bengals clearly view the LA Rams as beatable in Week 3, which has prompted them to put Burrow at risk for even greater harm. But are the Rams a patsy team that the Bengal;s can dominate? You decide after checking out the rest of this article.