At the end of every season, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow begins a few projects to evaluate his own game. He groups all of his sacks and sees what he can learn by watching all of them together. He does the same thing with his touchdown throws.
And Burrow also studies a montage of every interception he threw during the year.
Until Burrow gets to that point, he said he doesn’t want to pinpoint how many of his interception throws should have gone differently. Through the first nine games of the season, Burrow has more interceptions to go through than he ever has.
In his two college seasons as a starter at LSU, Burrow averaged 5.5 picks per year. In 2020, Burrow threw five interceptions in his 10 games. Now in 2021, Burrow is tied for the NFL lead with 11 interceptions through nine games.
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Burrow threw two more interceptions in Sunday’s 41-16 loss to the Cleveland Browns, and those interceptions were the Bengals biggest setbacks in the first half.
“Today, the interceptions were frustrating,” Burrow said. “Over the course of the season, there have been some that are my fault, some that were good plays by the defense. The ones that I can control, I need to limit. And that's that.”
Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan grouped Burrow’s interceptions into three categories: mental errors, over-aggressive plays and decision making errors. Head coach Zac Taylor grouped Burrow’s interceptions into two categories: picks that Burrow can learn from and picks that he can’t.
Among Burrow’s 11 interceptions in 2021, at least half of them weren’t Burrow’s responsibility.
“Some (interceptions) are decision-making and in Joe’s case, most of them are not,” Callahan said last week. “The ones that are decision-making errors are the ones that are the most concerning to me, and he has not had very many of those.”
In the NFL, turnovers will often fluctuate game-to-game and season-to-season. There wasn’t anything Burrow could have done against the Pittsburgh Steelers when his pass clipped off a Steelers defensive back’s helmet and popped up into the air. There wasn’t anything Burrow could have done against the Detroit Lions when a pass to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase tipped off Chase’s hands and to a defensive back.
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Burrow threw three consecutive interceptions against the Chicago Bears, and Taylor said he didn’t have a problem with any of those interceptions, either.
“He has always had an aggressive nature, but that’s what we want,” Taylor said last week. “We have receivers we can trust in aggressive situations to make plays. That’s why we got those guys, and (Burrow’s) doing what we want in terms of aggressiveness.”
While Burrow has played like a top-10 quarterback this season, he has also had a few concerning moments. In overtime against the Green Bay Packers, Burrow didn’t see a linebacker in the middle of the field and had his attempt to wide receiver Tyler Boyd intercepted. Against the Packers and the Baltimore Ravens, Burrow was picked off when he was under pressure and forced a throw to a blanketed receiver on the right sideline.
“(The Ravens interception) is one he can store away for the next 15 years,” Taylor said. “Not everyone (can) you learn from like that.”
In Sunday’s loss to the Browns, Burrow had two versions of the same style of interception.
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On the first drive of the game, the Bengals had 3rd and goal from the Browns 3-yard line. Chase faked a slant route inside and then cut back to the right side line. Burrow’s eyes were locked on Chase, who was guarded by Browns cornerback Denzel Ward.
Burrow has called Ward one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, and Ward is known for his instincts and his physicality at the top of routes. Ward seamlessly tracked Chase’s route, jumped into the passing lane and returned the interception 99 yards for a touchdown.
“I left (the throw) inside a little bit,” Burrow said. “If you do that to Denzel, he's going to make you pay."
Then in the middle of the third quarter, Burrow threw a slant to Chase. Ward stuck on Chase’s hip, slapped the ball up in the air and gave Browns safety John Johnson an easy shot at an interception.”
"Denzel made another good play, and he tipped it,” Burrow said. “I tried to kind of stop Ja'Marr with the ball and Denzel was right there and made a good play.”
Burrow is on pace to throw 20 interceptions, and last season there wasn’t a quarterback with more than 15 picks. It’s one of the biggest remaining weaknesses in Burrow’s game.
Even though the majority of Burrow’s interceptions haven’t been his fault, there’s a slim difference between being a top-10 quarterback and a quarterback in the next highest tier.
As Burrow looks to make the next step, limiting his interceptions is the most significant adjustment he can make.
“I've got to take care of the ball better,” Burrow said.
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