Just like countless NFL fans watching Monday night’s preseason game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders, ESPN play-by-play announcer Joe Buck was worried for Joe Burrow’s safety.

Burrow kicked off his preseason with a sharp performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, completing 9-of-10 passes for 123 yards with two touchdowns. He tried to pick up where he left off this Monday night against the Commanders. Although he threw for 62 yards and a touchdown, he was on the wrong end of a few hard hits.

Towards the end of the first quarter, Commanders defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. was penalized for a horse-collar tackle on Burrow. It looked like he flung the MVP-caliber quarterback to the ground when the play happened in real time.

One possession earlier, Burrow took an unnecessary sack instead of throwing the football out of bounds. As he was running away from a few Washington defenders, Buck offered a few words of wisdom.

“Burrow is sprinting around looking for a block,” Buck said. “Go down, Joe, it’s August.”

Joe Buck.

NFL fans were in agreement with Buck.

“He’s not wrong,” one fan said.

“Amen, Joe Buck,” NFL Network’s Stacy Dales said.

“Gotta protect yourself or season over before it even officially starts,” another fan wrote.

The last thing people want is for Burrow to get hurt in the preseason. That would legitimately put a damper on the 2025 season.

Thankfully, Burrow didn’t leave Monday’s game with an injury. He did, however, scare most of Cincinnati’s fan base.

The Bengals will wrap up their preseason on Aug. 23 when they face the Indianapolis Colts.

It’s unclear if Burrow will play against the Colts.

Zac Taylor may want to put Burrow on ice for Cincinnati’s preseason finale. After all, his star quarterback proved on Monday night that’s he’s not rusty.

If anything, Burrow is ready to build off the MVP-caliber season he had in 2024, which included 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns.

The Bengals will kick off their regular season on Sept. 7 against the Cleveland Browns.