BEREA − There's something almost oxymoronic about it in a way.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow can be one of the best in the NFL in getting rid of the football quickly. Few in the league can do it better.
“I mean he gets it off pretty quick and he’s slipperier than you would give him credit for," Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said Saturday. "He’s no Lamar [Jackson], but he’s able to find escape routes when you don’t think there are any. And just how their offense works, [run-pass options], quicks and just that threat of the long ball just keeps you on your toes not really knowing exactly the best run for the moment ... just kind of have to go with your gut feeling. So they’ve had trouble keeping him up in general, but the man himself is as talented as they come.”
That's the oxymoronic part of it, though. For as quickly as Burrow is able to get rid of the ball, he's also one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the NFL.
Through seven games already, Burrow, the third-year former No. 1 overall pick, has been sacked 24 times for a total of 157 yards in losses. According to Pro Football Focus, on 28.9% of the pressures against Burrow this season, he's been sacked.
Burrow can be quick on the draw in terms of releasing the ball, but he can also be put on the turf. That's the challenge the Browns defense has Monday night when they face the Bengals in a crucial AFC North game.
"I think our defense has had good games against the Bengals and Burrow," Garrett said, "and I think we know what it takes to really make him uncomfortable and get after him. And although he’s talented, loves his family, but we’ve got to put him in the dirt."
Otherwise, the Browns can see the part of Burrow that makes him one of the elite young passers in the league. Since the start of the 2021 season, he has three of the four top passing performances by yardage in the league,.
A week ago, Burrow threw for 481 yards in a win over the Atlanta Falcons, the second-best total in the league in the past season-plus. Only his 525-yard performance last Dec. 26 against the Baltimore Ravens is better.
One thing working in the Browns' favor is the absence of Ja'Marr Chase, the second-year star who's been Burrow's favorite target. The thing working against them is Burrow, who's fifth in the league in passer rating at 102.7 and top-five in yards (2,097), touchdowns (15), attempts (270), completions (186) and completion percentage (68.9).
Which makes the Browns' ability to not just get to Burrow, but to get him on the ground before he can get the ball out to one of his other dangerous targets, crucial to their hopes for success.
“That is a tough one to put a finger on because they are No. 1 in the NFL in giving up sacks with also the ball coming out quick, a lot of it with their empty and things like that," defensive line coach Chris Kiffin said. "[Burrow] is a very capable athlete to scramble. We have had to deal with that in the past where he has got us a couple of times.
"The game plan, we are going to cut the guys free to rush him, but aware No. 1, he can scramble; and No. 2, we have to get our hands up when the ball is coming out. Mixing up our coverages, and hopefully, he will bat the ball a couple of times and then we will get home, too.”
The Browns have had success against Burrow in three previous games against him. They've won all three times they've played the Bengals when he's started, twice his rookie season and last year, a 41-16 victory in Cincinnati.
![Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) strips the ball from the hands of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) during the third quarter of an NFL football game at FirstEnergy Stadium, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio. [Jeff Lange/Beacon Journal]](https://cdn.cincylink.com/pub/content/uploads/sites/27/2022/10/1667220304_636_The-Browns-have-a-plan-for-Joe-Burrow-Bengals-on.jpg)
Burrow, against the Browns, has completed 67.6% of his 148 attempts for 1,0004 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions, including, most notably, a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown by Denzel Ward a year ago that served as the catalyst to the win in Cincinnati.
What the Browns have been able to do, though, is to get to Burrow. They've sacked him 12 times in three games, including five times the only time they faced him last year.
"Getting the guy off of his spot," said Garrett, who has 4.5 career sacks against Burrow. "When the quarterback’s not comfortable just sitting in the pocket delivering those throws, that’s when you’re really able to really get them out of their game plan, maybe to move him around a little bit, make throws off of his back foot and throws on the run.
"When they start mixing it up on the looks that he’s seeing, whether it’s blitzes or coverages or both, or make them rely on their running game more, the passing game starts to falter. But you see most of his success when he’s sitting in the pocket and he’s just dialing guys up left and right, especially No. 1 [Chase]."
The Browns' defensive line is coming off arguably its best performance of the season in last Sunday's loss to the Ravens. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney only played 20 snaps in the game, but his presence opposite Garrett at least forced the Ravens to concern themselves with him when he was on the field.
That also opened up things on the interior, with defensive tackle Taven Bryan joining Garrett in each sacking Jackson. The Browns finished with three sacks, the other from cornerback Martin Emerson Jr., along with five quarterback hits and eight tackles for loss.
The defensive line will need to build off of that against a rebuilt Bengals offensive line to help alleviate some of the pressure on a back seven that is hampered by injuries. Linebacker Jacob Phillips was placed on injured reserve last Wednesday and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is questionable to play with a knee injury that kept him out of practice all week.
The secondary, meanwhile, will be without Ward, a two-time Pro Bowler, for the third consecutive game as he recovers from a concussion. Two other cornerbacks, Greg Newsome II (oblique) and Greedy Williams (illness), were listed as questionable, although both did practice on a limited basis on Saturday.
In order to not leave those in coverage against a still-talented Bengals receiving corps with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, Garrett and Clowney, in particular, have to be able to continue to make Burrow uncomfortable when he drops back to pass.
"It is kind of like boxing – styles make fights," Garrett said. "The Bengals have a good style. It will definitely be a test for us on the back end and being able to get pressure on him and make him uncomfortable, but we have to take the momentum, at least defensively, back home with us and make sure that we keep flustering this guy and make sure he is not comfortable in the pocket.”
Contact Chris at [email protected].
On Twitter: @ceasterling ABJ
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