Joe Burrow Was So Tickled by His Offensive Lineman’s Angry Run

Everyone loves a gadget play in the NFL that puts the ball in the hands of a big man.

The Bengals pulled off such a play on Sunday in their dominant win over the Cardinals when they decided to line up offensive lineman Cody Ford wide on the right side. Joe Burrow dropped back and threw to Ford, who made the catch and decided to do some damage to the unlucky Cardinals charged with defending him. Ford pushed his way through the opposition before being taken down at the five-yard line.

Big catch for the big man ‼️

📺: #ARIvsCIN on FOX pic.twitter.com/dmvTg389Qx
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 28, 2025

In a delightful bit of good timing, Burrow was mic’d up on the play, meaning the rest of us were able to get a first-hand look at his reaction to the big play. Look at how Burrow literally drops his jaw as Ford breaks free.

Burrow had one word to describe the play: “Sick.”

Burrow thought offensive lineman Cody Ford had six points on this play 😅 @Bengals @InsideTheNFL Week 17 Mic'd Up on X pic.twitter.com/KQ6FYU8PY6
— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2025

Burrow wasn’t the only one tickled by the big play. After the game, Ford received some chants of encouragement from his teammates in the locker room. According to Ford, the play was drawn up during the week and went about as well as anyone could have hoped for it to go.

“Joe kept telling me get wider in the formation throughout the week. I thought he was just telling me to get the hell out of the way. … I’m an athlete!” Cody Ford. pic.twitter.com/5pcy6D8y3a
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) December 28, 2025

Ford said that throughout the week, Burrow had continuallly told him to get wider, which he took as an instruction to get him out of the way. As coach Zac Taylor explained later, Ford’s positioning was actually aimed at forcing the defense into a tough position.

Taylor also pointed out that the entire Bengals sideline was standing right on the edge of the field, knowing that something special was about to happen.

The Making of a Moment

Zac Taylor brought out the iPad to break down the play everyone in Cincinnati is talking about today: Cody Ford's 21 yard catch.

See more of this on our weekly Bengals Now show. pic.twitter.com/5vcR8bgL0M
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) December 29, 2025

Ford’s big play wasn’t the only highlight from Burrow’s day mic’d up. At one point, the star quarterback requested a waffle to snack on. Thanks to modern technology, we were able to follow him through his entire mid-game meal journey.

Sometimes you just need a little mid-game snack 🍴 @JoeyB @insidetheNFL Week 17 Mic'd Up on X pic.twitter.com/7k5FP0VgDQ
— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2025

There are few things better than a mic’d up superstar.