After An Epic Performance, Joe Burrow Has Bengals Thinking Bright Lights, Big City

CINCINNATI – What Joe Burrow put on display Sunday against the Ravens gives every Bengals fan real Super Bowl hope and offers caution to every defensive coordinator.

Who cares if he doesn’t think nightlife in Cincinnati is hoppin’ and poppin’? You can call Cincinnati every synonym for boring and quiet you want if it means you’re going to show the city what you showed it Sunday.

Think Aaron Rodgers has been to brighter lights and faster nightlife than Green Bay? Rodgers doesn’t seem to be complaining about throwing to Davante Adams and setting all kinds of records. And Burrow has not one, not two but three Pro Bowl-caliber receivers.

Burrow found Tee Higgins 12 times for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Burrow connected with Ja’Marr Chase seven times for 125 yards and hit up Tyler Boyd three times for 85 yards, including a 68-yard score.

In throwing for a franchise-record 525 yards and four touchdowns, the Bengals quarterback helped the team do precisely what they were supposed to do with Josh Johnson starting on the other side: Post a one-sided victory, 41-21, that brings them one win away from their first AFC North title since 2015.

“I guess stat-wise (that was his best), yes, but I think that Joey B. is on point most of the time, and everybody in this offense had a lot to do with it,” Joe Mixon said.

What Joey Franchise showed us all Sunday is that he is a generational quarterback capable of making a team believe it can do special things.

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, you don’t pull the mask off that old lone ranger, and you don’t insult Joe Burrow.

In case you were out last-minute shopping and didn’t notice, Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale told reporters when asked about Joey Franchise that there shouldn’t be too much of a rush to put a “Gold Jacket” on the Bengals quarterback.

“Yeah, I (saw it),” Burrow said. “I think it was an unnecessary comment. I wouldn’t say I was offended by it. I’m in Year 2. Who knows what’s going to happen down the road. I didn’t think it was a necessary comment.”

If Burrow wins a Super Bowl or four or seven, Sunday’s game might find its way onto the Hall of Fame highlight film in Canton.

“Every good defense has a great quarterback,” said Trey Hendrickson, who recorded his 14th sack of 2021 in the win. “He’s giving us rest. He’s completing throws. It was a great game. It was fun watching No. 9 work. I wouldn’t go around pissing that guy off. He did a great job. I know we’re really proud of him, and as a defense, he’s important to us.”

The 41-21 rout of the Ravens could’ve turned out differently early on when Johnson marched his team 75 yards on the opening drive to answer Cincinnati’s field goal. It could’ve turned out differently if James Proche wasn’t downed by contact one yard shy of a first down in the first quarter and the Bengals defense showing no signs of getting off the field on third down.

But two plays after Johnson fumbled the snap and the Ravens punted, Burrow took his time in the pocket and found Tyler Boyd uncovered. Boyd did the rest for a 68-yard score, and the Bengals were off to the races.

Burrow was the jockey on this thoroughbred on this day. He finished 16-of-19 for 299 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone. He had a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3. For the second time this season, the Bengals had 31 points by halftime.

Yes, there was no Marlon Humphrey for the Ravens, as the star defensive back has been out since November due to a right pectoral injury. The Ravens have been hit hard by COVID and injuries and their lack of depth was exposed to a degree on Sunday.

But don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that Sunday’s performance against an undermanned defense lessened the impact of the perfect execution by Burrow. Take the fourth-and-5 at the Baltimore 38. Burrow went to a bread-and-butter play, a sideline out to Tee Higgins for 13 yards and a first down. The Bengals on this day were about scoring touchdowns and Burrow was about taking command of his team.

There was even a play were Burrow had to take matters into his own hands when his headset in his helmet went out and he had to take a call from Brandon Allen on the sideline. The next play was a 52-yard bomb to Tee Higgins in double coverage on third-and-16 from the Bengals 45. Higgins made the catch of the day. That play put the Bengals at the Ravens 3.

Even Burrow’s mistakes were wiped out on this perfect afternoon of offensive football in the Jungle.

Burrow threw an interception picked off by Daryl Worley in the end zone, intended for Ja’Marr Chase. But back-to-back defensive holding calls led to Burrow’s third TD pass of the day, a one-yard out to Higgins.

Did Taylor keep his foot on the gas? Absolutely. Burrow was throwing late in the fourth quarter, with the result seemingly no longer in question. But Taylor’s job is to teach the team to finish.

“Our guys need to develop a killer instinct right now,” Taylor said. “Now’s the time that we have to be playing our best football. Baltimore’s been in this position before, and they never quit.”

Did Burrow take some liberties? Sure.

No. 9 even admitted it after when he was told by Zac Taylor not to scramble before his record-breaking 52-yard throw on a “go” route to Joe Mixon that put him over 500 yards and gave him the new franchise mark.

“Zac told me not to scramble on that one, and I scrambled through the hole, and saw Joe Mixon,” Burrow said. “I wasn’t supposed to do it, but I went out there and did it anyways.”

If you want a quote that sums up Burrow, and what makes him a leader that his teammates LOVE to follow, that is it. It was reminiscent of his “let me be me” response when I asked him about Phil Simms comparing him to Joe Montana early in this, his second season.

Yes, some in Baltimore are going to be pissed that Burrow was out there throwing for a 500-yard milestone one year after the Ravens set a team record for rushing with 404 yards in the 38-3 laugher to end the 2020 season at Paul Brown Stadium.

When you play as well as Burrow did Sunday, the records are going to come.

With some luck, we may even get a Burrow-Rodgers rematch in Los Angeles on Feb. 13. Then the two can have more time to talk about thriving in a small town.