This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/bengals/onsi as Bengals QB Joe Burrow Has Better Numbers When He's Missing Tee Higgins or Ja'Marr Chase Than When He Has Both WRs.

Burrow might be grinding out the season, but Ja'Marr Chase said there's "no negativity in the building from him."

Burrow's ability to recognize defensive patterns, set protections and find explosives out of them has set him apart in the NFL.

The oft-injured star quarterback may not have directly complained about the Bengals situation, but there was some thought behind them

Burrow, who turned 29 today, seemed to be dejected throughout much of his weekly press conference. Initially, he thanked reporters and left after answering a couple of questions and a lull emerged. He returned to take more questions. And that’s when it got very interesting.

The question was simple, but the answer from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was anything but. In a mid-week press conference -- held on his 29th birthday, no less -- the franchise star offered a stunningly honest,