Joe Burrow had all of Cincinnati terrified over two unnecessary preseason plays

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor had a bold strategy for the preseason. As a way to eliminate slow starts to the regular season, Taylor announced that his starters would play for extended periods of time in preseason action. That includes quarterback Joe Burrow.

On Monday night, the Bengals were on the road to take on the Washington Commanders. Burrow played for the entirety of the first quarter, and not without scaring Bengals fans watching the game. For example, Burrow extending a play with his legs to avoid defensive pressure. Burrow ran backwards for multiple seconds to try and escape the pressure only to get sacked by three Commanders defenders at once.

That's not ideal. But wait, there's more!

Burrow stood in the pocket but watched it collapse and saw Commanders defensive lineman Dietrich Wise Jr standing in his way. while you can't fault Burrow from trying to run away, it was how he was brought down for the sack. That's right, a horse collar tackle.

Joe Burrow scares Bengals fans over extended preseason play, resulting in multiple unnecessary hits

Look, we get the Bengals are trying to ensure that everyone is on the same page to make sure they don't get off to a slow start to the regular season like they did in years past. But Bengals fans and NFL fans as a whole know that Burrow will be just fine with limited preseason snaps.

The last thing anyone needs to see is Burrow suffering an injury in what is, essentially, a meaningless game.

Despite these two plays, Burrow stayed in for three full drives on Monday night. Burrow completed 9-of-14 pass attempts for 62 yards and a touchdown, while picking up a 97.9 passer rating.

Luckily for the Bengals and the fanbase, Burrow was just fine. But we can guarantee fans weren't expecting to be sitting on their couches and chairs nervous about the hits Burrow was taking.