As the Cincinnati Bengals were decimating the Arizona Cardinals in a Week 17 clash, QB1 Joe Burrow had to make a quick trip to the bench to mend a gear-related issue. Burrow, who missed a majority of the season with a Grade 3 turf toe injury, looked like his superstar self at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati as he lit up Arizona with two touchdown passes in the first half.

Midway through the game, the Bengals QB1 had to rush to the bench and switch out the malfunctioning helmet. Just before this moment, Burrow signaled to the Cincinnati coaching staff that he couldn’t hear anything due to the technical difficulties.

However, Joe Burrow’s helmet wasn’t the only new piece of gear used by him against the Cardinals. The Bengals’ QB1, ahead of this Week 17 matchup, had stated about a change of cleats since the win over the Miami Dolphins. At Hard Rock Stadium, Burrow was seen wearing his old cleats, but on Christmas Eve, the 29-year-old told reporters that he is making great progress on his comeback from Grade 3 turf toe.

Hence, after this recovery, he can get back into something more comfortable, unlike his cleats, which had a specially designed plate for his injury.

“Certainly not as mobile as I have been in the past, but mobile enough to make a couple plays every game,” Burrow said about his recovery after the turf toe injury.

Although these equipment issues didn’t stop Joe Burrow from having another incredible performance as he completed 24 of his 31 attempts for 305 passing yards with two touchdown passes, including a 21-yard pass to offensive lineman Cody Ford to set up a Chase Brown rushing touchdown.

But in the fourth quarter of the game, the Bengals decided to replace Burrow with backup quarterback Joe Flacco. The veteran shot-caller took the field as Cincinnati led Arizona 37-7, making this the second consecutive time that Flacco replaced Burrow after featuring in the Week 16 45-21 blowout of the Miami Dolphins.

Then, after the Cardinal scored a late fourth-quarter touchdown thanks to Trey McBride, Cincinnati registered another convincing 37-14 win. However, with this score, McBride joined Bengals WR1 Ja’Marr Chase as the duo created a couple of special records in this matchup.

Chase and McBride create monumental records in Week 17 clash

Although this game had no special postseason significance, the Bengals and the Cardinals saw their star players create a few important records. Starting with Cincinnati, as Ja’Marr Chase caught two touchdown passes from Joe Burrow, he finished with seven catches for 60 yards to become the first player in NFL history with at least 80 receptions, 1,000 receiving yards, and seven TD catches in each of his first five seasons.

On the other hand, Arizona’s Trey McBride recorded 10 catches, taking his tally for the season to 119, breaking the NFL single-season record for a tight end. McBride overtook Zach Ertz’s record of 116 catches in 2018. He also broke DeAndre Hopkins’ Cardinals record of 115 catches, set in 2020.

Now with just one game remaining in the 2025 NFL regular season, the Bengals and Cardinals have two big-ticket divisional matches scheduled. Cincinnati will take on the Cleveland Browns, while Arizona will face off against the Los Angeles Rams.

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