Joe Burrow's new look becomes NFL's ‘biggest meme of night' during Bengals win

When the Bengals were playing against the Philadelphia Steelers on Thursday Night, October 17, the cameras kept switching to Burrow who is back after a Grade 3 turf toe injury.

The franchise star, with a protective boot upon, was watching the play with a low, furrowed brow, long, disorganized hair floating down his eyes in an observably dejected attitude.

The image was a catnip for social media, and in a few minutes, the picture was all over social media platforms.

The NFL world did not take long to respond with fans and commentators flooding with humorous comparisons.

One social media user said, “Burrow looks likes an undercover cop posing as a senior in high school.”

Another user drew similarity of his dark attitude and fringe to The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Conrad Fisher due to his character based on the angst-filled role.

The memes gave a nonsensical antipode to the action on the field, in which 40-year-old Joe Flacco was driving the team on a last-minute and game-winning drive.

The contrast between the battle won by Flacco, the veteran, and the misery of the virus-stricken Burrow was quite sharp.

In spite of the internet memes, the updates on the progress on the healing of Burrow are optimistic.

Head coach Zac Taylor and broadcast reports have confirmed that he is making progress towards a mid-December come-back. 

One night, though, it was not so much about his toe that is healing but his hair and his heartbreak, which proves that Joe Burrow is impossible to miss even when he is not playing.