Injuries and rust are valid excuses to explain away Joe Burrow's early-season struggles during his tenure as Cincinnati Bengals quarterback. However, he actually made it through training camp healthy this year, only to see his offense sputter again in Week 1.

The Bengals are allowing a league-worst 407.9 yards per game through eight games, and Ben Johnson will have his pick of matchups to exploit, starting with a Cincy run defense that gave up 254 yards and two TDs against the Jets. Although starting running back D’Andre Swift is out, Kyle Monangai should pick up the slack.

The Joe Burrow-less Bengals limp into Empower Field for a matchup with a Denver Broncos team that badly needs a win.

Bengals QB Joe Flacco was asked about keeping Joe Burrow's seat warm. He did not stutter when asked about his role.

The latest drama on that side of the ball is Logan Wilson requesting a trade in response to his benching and low snap counts in favor of rookies. Persistent tackling issues across the unit remain and will need fixed against a Jets team that will very obviously want to run the ball.