Bengals’ Joe Burrow, Bryan Cook go full Rocky Balboa-Apollo Creed during Eagles clash

The Cincinnati Bengals squared off against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in the preseason finale. The game showcased everything both teams had been preparing for throughout training camp, along with some shadowboxing highlights from Joe Burrow and Bryan Cook.

Anyone who has watched the Rocky series and the Creed trilogy could see a shadow of Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed in the two NFL stars. Burrow and Cook were caught throwing some friendly punches on the sidelines during the first half of the preseason finale, which later turned out in the Bengals’ favor.

Joe Burrow vs Bryan Cook… Who ya got? pic.twitter.com/7CRPXWd511

— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) August 29, 2026

The Bengals edged out the Eagles 30-13 while the starter sat out for the game. Burrow did play in the first preseason game for the franchise while head coach Zac Taylor decided to keep him out of the other two games.

The move made all the sense, as keeping the top candidates on the roster healthy was the priority heading into the regular season rather than inviting any injury scares.

Now, with the third preseason game being played and played out well, the Bengals will move on to cut out names to make the final decision on the looming 53-man roster. For the quarterback position, Burrow is the top candidate to fill in. He has also been crystal clear about his mentality heading into the 2026 NFL season.

However, Burrow’s stats are impressive too. During the 2025 NFL regular season alone, Burrow completed 173 of 259 passes (66.8%) for 1,809 passing yards, per Pro Football Reference. He also had 17 touchdowns and 5 interceptions with a 100.7 passer rating, while also rushing for 41 yards across 8 games before his season was cut short by injury.

If anything, he would want to repeat his impressive run, if not outrun himself.

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