Bengals drop bombshell injury update just days before Patriots matchup

The New England Patriots are in the midst of preparing for their Week 12 clash against the Bengals on the road in hopes of continuing their current 8-game win streak. Since beating the Jets last Thursday night, it looked like their upcoming opponent would be without their starting quarterback, and over the last two days, it was made official that they would also be without WR Ja'Marr Chase.

Their absences immediately made the Patriots the bigger favorites heading into the game, despite backup QB Joe Flacco impressing while Joe Burrow has been sidelined due to an injury.

But now that might not be the case, as the Bengals released their latest injury report on Wednesday, showing that Burrow was a full participant in practice for the first time in several weeks, hinting that he is likely to return to the field for Sunday's game against the Patriots.

Although that doesn't completely derail the Patriots' chances of sneaking a win out of Cincinnati, it certainly throws a wrench into their plans of coming up with a game plan against Flacco instead.

The Patriots might have to face QB Joe Burrow this week instead of Joe Flacco

While this doesn't necessarily mean that Burrow is officially good to go for Sunday, the Bengals are in danger of putting together their worst season in recent memory, so it wouldn't be entirely shocking if they want to have their franchise quarterback back on the field as soon as possible.

At the same time, they'll want to evaluate whether that is the best course of action, given that Burrow hasn't played since Week 2, and risking further injury might not be worth it in the long run.

It will ultimately come down to determining if the playoffs are even a real possibility this season or what they're hoping to compete for at this point. Stacking some wins at the end of the year could push them into a wildcard spot, or even improve their position in next year's draft, so it's difficult to say what they'll value.

But whatever their decision is regarding Burrow could also hint at what they think of the Patriots. They might be a 9-2 team, but there are plenty of doubters who aren't buying into the hype, so the Bengals would try to be the team to knock them off their current pedestal.