Joe Burrow Carted Off With Knee Injury

No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow has looked pretty freaking good this year, especially given the lack of what anyone might call, even generously, "protection." The number and severity of hits he's taken were either evidence of superhuman indestructibility, or the sign of a ticking time bomb. This afternoon against Washington, that time bomb exploded, along with perhaps a knee ligament or two:

Hard to see what happened? That's because the CBS crew chose not to air any replays, saying they were too ugly to show. But it looks like a serious knee injury, where Burrow's left leg was planted and bent outward as he was hit from that side. Burrow was taken off on a cart and ruled out almost immediately. You can count on an MRI tonight or tomorrow, and while we're hoping for the best, we wouldn't expect it.

Update: Yep.

The Bengals' offensive line, not particularly stout to begin the season, has been banged up all year, sporting new faces seemingly every single week. A freak hit may sometimes be nothing more than a freak hit, but Cincinnati's failure to spend on an o-line to protect its single biggest investment feels like nothing short of football malpractice.