What happened: Cincinnati came out of the win with its offense still under scrutiny after a muted showing. Burrow had already become a midweek concern because of back tightness, though he was able to throw Thursday.

Why it matters: That leaves the Bengals balancing results with durability and consistency as the regular season moves on. A win buys time, but it does not erase questions around Burrow's back issue and whether the offense can carry its share week to week.

What to watch: The next checkpoints are Burrow's practice workload and whether Cincinnati's offense looks cleaner in its next outing.