The Cincinnati Bengals put on a show in Madrid, Spain, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-17. Quarterback Joe Burrow was 24 for 29 for 271 yards. He threw 3 touchdown passes and, most importantly, did not throw an interception this week.
Jordan Love currently leads the NFL in passing yards with 2,618 yards on the season. Burrow is currently second with 2,386 passing yards. It is important to note that Burrow has also played one less game than Jordan Love this year. Burrow has a better completion rate,
completing an elite 74% of his passes this season. Burrow is also leading the league in touchdown passes, having thrown 23 of them already this season.
It isn’t just the stats that are jumping out for Burrow; he is in full control of an explosive Cincinnati offense that is firing on all cylinders. Let’s take a look at some of his biggest plays from the win against Atlanta.
After the Falcons drove down the field and scored a touchdown to start the game, Joe Burrow and the offense were able to answer right back. The biggest play of the drive came on a 47-yard touchdown strike to Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals tried to hit that play last week, with Burrow not getting enough on the ball and ultimately throwing an interception. That wasn’t the case this week, as he hit Chase in stride to help tie the game up 7-7.
After an Atlanta Falcons field goal, the Bengals offense was able to drive right down the field again. Burrow got some incredible catches from his wide receivers on this drive. The first one was a 7-yard completion to Tee Higgins on a third down that allowed the Bengals to keep the drive alive. Higgins caught the ball with strong hands in traffic. He was also being held on the ball, though no flag was thrown.
Not long after that completion, it was Ja’Marr Chase making a spectacular play for his quarterback. Burrow threw a pass a bit too far out in front of Ja’Marr. The defender thought he had an interception, until Ja’Marr decided to snag the ball out of the air with one hand. He immediately turned upfield for yards after the catch.
Burrow and the offense were able to get up to the line quickly after getting down to the 1-yard line on this drive. Burrow caught the Falcons off guard and called his own number for the quarterback sneak. He recorded his second rushing touchdown in as many weeks as a result. This score put the Bengals up 14-10.
After the defense forced a Falcons punt, Joe Burrow and the offense were back on the field for their third series of the game. They started the drive with Burrow going to Ja’Marr Chase once again. This time for a 31-yard catch-and-run.
Burrow displayed his toughness on a crucial third down during the drive. He had to scramble out to his right and was able to extend the play just long enough to get a patented Ja’Marr is down there somewhere pass off. Burrow got leveled on the play, but the result was a big completion to a diving Chase down the field for another first down.
With pressure coming off the left side of the line, Burrow was able to convert another crucial third down on this drive. He had to double clutch, but stood tall in the pocket and delivered a pass that only his receiver could catch. That receiver just so happened to be Ja’Marr Chase again, who made a spectacular extension for the ball while getting his feet down just in bounds in the process. The Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase connection was strong in the first half, with Chase going for over 140 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Speaking of quarterback-to-receiver connections that have been on fire all season, Joe Burrow found Tee Higgins for the touchdown to cap off this drive. Burrow threw a perfect strike to Higgins just inside the end zone. Tee once again displayed strong hands to extend the Bengals’ lead to 21-10.
It isn’t just the top two receivers that Burrow has been finding for big plays this season either. Dohnte Meyers had a big play last week to help the Bengals ultimately force overtime and get the victory against Tennessee. This week it wasn’t as dramatic of a moment, but Burrow once again scrambled out and was able to hit Meyers for a big play before halftime. The Bengals would ultimately kick a field goal on this drive, making their lead 24-10 at halftime.
Burrow and the rest of the offense didn’t have to do a whole lot the rest of the way, but after Atlanta cut the lead to 24-17 in the third quarter, they did need to put together another scoring drive. That is exactly what they were able to do. Maybe one of the most impressive plays of the game for Joe Burrow was the touchdown at the end of this one. He went through his progression, stood tough in the pocket, and delivered an absolute strike to Tee Higgins in the middle of the end zone. That touchdown put the Bengals back up by two scores, a lead that was too much to overcome for the Atlanta Falcons.
It is only halfway through the season, so there is a ton of football to be played. With that said, Joe Burrow is firmly in everyone’s midseason conversations for MVP. It won’t just be up to him to keep playing at the level he is; the defense will also have to find ways to continue helping to win games. The MVP award is typically going to be given to a player who is part of a team with a lot of regular-season wins. A win against Pittsburgh in primetime Sunday Night Football would ramp up the MVP talk even more.
