Burrow bounced back from a shutout loss at home against Baltimore in Week 15 to lead the Bengals to a 45-21 win against the Dolphins, while wearing his regular shoes. He had been using a custom-made pair that had special protection for his toe, but those were not as comfortable as what he normally uses.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
With the toe even better healed in his fourth game back, Burrow felt confident he could play without the added protection and he threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.
“It feels good,” Burrow said Wednesday. “Certainly not as mobile as I have been in the past, but mobile enough to make a couple plays every game. Certainly not going to make a living doing it right now, but I’ve been able to be effective in spots.”
Burrow achieved two milestones last week, crossing 20,000 yards passing and 150 passing touchdowns in just 75 career games – becoming among the top five fastest quarterbacks to reach those marks.
Asked what milestone he thinks about next, Burrow didn’t put out any specific numbers he is targeting, but he does think long-term and big picture in setting goals.
“I’d like to play long enough and be productive enough to where your name is toward the top of those lists year in and year out, so that’s a goal of mine,” Burrow said. “More of a longevity thing once you start to get older.”
Burrow is focused on the next game now, as the Bengals (5-10) host the Arizona Cardinals (3-12) on Sunday as they try to make it two wins in a row and have a chance to close the season with some momentum toward 2026 with the finale set for the following weekend against Cleveland.
Cincinnati is 2-2 since Burrow’s return and 4-2 in games he started this season, though he exited in the second quarter of the Week 2 victory against Jacksonville that was secured by then-No. 2 quarterback Jake Browning.
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Burrow doesn’t look at his absence as the reason for the team’s shortcomings in missing the playoffs for a third straight year, but acknowledged it has “played a role.”
“It obviously wasn’t the deciding factor on how the season went,” Burrow said. “It’s a team game, and whoever is out there you expect to play at a high level and to the standard of what we built here, but as far as what I can control, just try to be out there and affect the game more.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Last week’s game looked about as good as it could have. Burrow was utilizing all of his weapons and even making perfect throws to beat double coverage on Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said that’s how it is supposed to look every week with such a talented quarterback.
“It was a microcosm of everything he brings to the table,” Pitcher said of Burrow’s four-touchdown performance.
The sixth-year quarterback has enjoyed seeing the offense evolve over the years into one capable of overcoming whatever a defense throws at it.
Higgins is quietly having one of his best seasons, and Chase, who made his fifth straight Pro Bowl to open his NFL career, recorded his seventh game last week with 100 yards or more this season.
“It’s been a process,” Burrow said. “We have so many weapons now that teams will still do it, but we have so many ways to attack it, our coaches do such a good job of designing a couple plays each week to go and beat it, and we’ve faced it enough now we can make adjustments on the fly when we see it, especially if we see it a lot in the game.”
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Burrow said there are certain routes the Bengals still feel good about against double-double coverage on Chase and Higgins because they can’t just let teams take those two out of the gameplan. They’ve seen enough of it to be able to adjust and attack it on the fly.
Arizona has struggled defensively, allowing 27.6 points and 350.5 yards per game, but will bring unique challenges. Up front, Calais Cambell is a threat with 5.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hits, while outside linebacker Josh Sweat, who is dealing with ankle and knee injuries, leads the Cardinals with 11.0 sacks and 16 quarterback hits.
Burrow said their coverages are what make them different, though.
“They don’t do the traditional coverages you typically see — they do but they get to them from different ways,” Burrow said. “They are going to play kind of umbrella look from the secondary and roll and drop into a bunch of different coverages. Kind of reminds me of how Clemson played us (LSU) in the national championship (in 2019), so it will present a unique challenge for sure.”
NEXT GAME
Who: Cardinals at Bengals
When: 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28
TV: FOX
Radio: 104.7-FM, 700-AM