Joe Burrow dropped over 400 passing yards on 54 attempts in Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville, a performance that offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher immediately called “not sustainable.” Talk about a mixed message, especially when Burrow himself is out here suggesting the Bengals should just “throw it more” to compensate for a run game that can’t break a tackle if its life depended on it.
The “Switch” That Nearly Saved Everything
It seems like the Bengals spent the offseason dreaming of some hard-nosed, under-center offense, but reality hit hard, like, 3.5 games in. You could practically pinpoint the moment Burrow decided he’d had enough of that experiment. It was the opening drive of the third quarter against Jacksonville. First play? Under-center dropback, and Burrow got sacked. A few plays later, another under-center call, and Chase Brown got stuffed behind the line. Up until that point, they’d logged 11 under-center plays. For the rest of the game, they ran just one more: a QB sneak at the goal line. Before that shift, Cincinnati had a pathetic three points on the board. Once Burrow, who’s way more comfortable in the gun, flipped that switch and got into a rhythm, he nearly pulled off a crazy second-half comeback. Seriously, some of the plays he made during that rally were unreal.
Burrow’s Efficiency Proves He Can Cook, Even If They’re Worried About The Oven
Here’s the wild part: while throwing it 50-plus times might be unsustainable for almost every team in the NFL, the Bengals actually built their roster to handle it. Think about the massive contracts they’ve given to Burrow and his two star wideouts, plus all the resources poured into that offensive line. They’re spending big on their dropback passing game, and it shows in some surprising ways. Per Next Gen Stats, Burrow is actually better in obvious passing situations this season. He’s averaging a solid 8.6 yards per attempt and 0.14 expected points added per dropback when the pre-snap pass probability is over 75%. Compare that to all other situations, where he’s at 6.4 yards per attempt and just 0.0 EPA per dropback. The under-center stuff, with its run-game struggles, is clearly tanking his early-down numbers. Burrow even said before the season, “A big part of the under center is the run game, and in the run game you have to break tackles to make it go, so we’ll see come the first game.” Well, four games in, and it’s clear the Bengals running backs are not getting it done, averaging a league-low 1.7 yards after contact. They might want to be a smashmouth team, but they just don’t have the “horses” for it right now.
The Bengals are at a crossroads right now. They want to run the ball, but they can’t. They have a quarterback who can throw for 400 yards in a loss, but his own coordinator is waving red flags. This team needs to figure out who they are, and quick. What direction are they going to go? We’ll be watching to see if they actually let Burrow do what he does best, or if they keep trying to force a square peg into a round hole.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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