Before the Cincinnati Bengals faced the Baltimore Ravens, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor called Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson an elite player. Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said Jackson’s elusiveness is by far the best in the NFL. Bengals safety Jessie Bates III said Jackson is the type of quarterback who can throw the ball 80 yards down the field.
And then on Sunday in Baltimore, one quarterback completed 60% of his passes and set a career-high with 416 passing yards. The other quarterback had his least efficient game of the year.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow outplayed Jackson, the 2019 MVP. And Burrow did it in just his 17th career NFL game.
As the Bengals’ window as contenders in the AFC opened with the win in Baltimore, Burrow also proved something. While he doesn’t have Jackson’s resume yet, Burrow is becoming one of the best 8-to-12 quarterbacks in the NFL, and he still has only played one full season’s worth of games.
Here are Burrow’s five most interesting plays from the win in Baltimore.
1. Third and 8 from the Bengals 38-yard line; 13:19 left in the first quarter. Burrow completes a 23-yard pass to Samaje Perine.
Every top-10 quarterback has a few unique qualities and a few traits that no other NFL quarterback can match. Jackson is the most elusive quarterback. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the best at making difficult, off-balanced throws into tight windows. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the best at making deep throws on the run from outside the pocket.
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Burrow isn’t an MVP yet, but he’s developing what could be his superpower going forward. His ability to move inside the pocket, avoid pressure and keep his eyes down the field is his biggest strength.
On this play, Burrow had to wait five seconds for a receiver to get open. Meanwhile, the Ravens blitzed and had a free runner off the right edge. At the same time, Ravens edge rusher Justin Houston won his one-on-one matchup on the left edge and pressured Burrow. While keeping his eyes down the field, Burrow stepped up in the pocket to avoid Houston. Then he hopped to the right to break a sack attempt.
Then with another pass rusher running right at him, Burrow completed a short pass to Perine. Since the Ravens blitzed on the play, Perine had room to run and picked up 23 yards.
2. Second and 10 on the Ravens 45-yard line; 32 seconds left in the second quarter. Burrow completes a 26-yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase.
The Bengals entered the game with an understandable game plan. Burrow called Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey the best cornerback in the NFL, and Ravens No. 2 cornerback Anthony Averett has struggled this season. Since Humphrey followed Chase for most of the game, Burrow targeted wide receiver Tee Higgins 11 times in the first half.
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The Burrow-to-Higgins connection didn’t click in the first half, including on a deep pass attempt to Higgins with 37 seconds left in the first half. So on the next play, the Bengals ditched that initial game plan. Humphrey was guarding Chase in press coverage, and Chase ran a crossing route. The rookie wide receiver used a jump step to get inside leverage and then turned his body to create an angle for Burrow to throw the ball.
Burrow’s pass to Chase put the Bengals in field goal range. Chase only had one catch in the first 28 minutes of the game, but he finished with eight receptions on 10 targets.
3. First and 10 from the Bengals 15-yard line; 3:37 left in the third quarter. Burrow completes a 25-yard pass to Tyler Boyd.
Burrow has distributed the ball between the Bengals starting skill position players all season, and he has taken advantage of his ability to read the defense to put the Bengals in position to win nearly every game. But this completion didn’t require Burrow’s best throw of the game. It was a win for the scheme and proof of the challenges the Bengals offense is presenting on a play-by-play basis.
The Bengals lined up in 11 personnel and sent all five skill position players on routes. The Ravens shaded a high safety toward Chase, and they had two defenders in the same area as Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah, who had already caught two touchdown passes.
No one defended Boyd, who ran a 10-yard crossing route out of the slot. Boyd averaged 997 total yards per season between 2018 and 2020, but he was left open because the Ravens had so many priorities.
4. First and 10 from the Ravens 36-yard line; 17 seconds left in the third quarter. Burrow completes a 27-yard pass to Chase.
During the offseason, Burrow made specific mechanical adjustments to improve his arm strength. After the game, Burrow said he made several throws he wouldn’t have been able to complete last season.
This was one of them, and it was Burrow’s most difficult throw of the day. With Chase running down the right sideline, Burrow delivered the pass directly to Chase’s back shoulder.
5. Third and 16 from the Ravens 16-yard line. 14:55 left in the fourth quarter. Burrow is intercepted by Humphrey.
Under pressure, Burrow threw a fade to Chase into the end zone, and Humphrey defended Chase well on the play and intercepted the pass. Even though this play didn’t work, it showed how much confidence Burrow has in Chase.
Burrow was under so much pressure on this play that he couldn’t see that Chase was tightly guarded. With the Bengals leading the Ravens, Burrow took a chance that Chase could reel the pass in anyway.
On this play, Burrow proved just how much he trusts Chase to make any catch. Burrow’s faith in Chase has worked out more often than not, and this interception could be a sign of more big plays to come down the road.
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