It’s a prelude to one of the most horrifying scenes in football: A quarterback, eyes fixed downfield at his intended target, with his plant foot confidently spiked into the ground. Unbeknownst to him, defenders converge from both sides. At the last second, each will aim at the polar opposite ends of the quarterback’s body, leaving the plant leg horrendously vulnerable.
Joe Burrow was carted off the field in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against Washington and headed off to an uncertain near future. That prelude forces the mind to wander. There is little doubt it produced a uniform grimace on the sideline as the future of the franchise awaited the nightmare scenario.