Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is right on pace with some of the all-time greats after a hot start to his second pro season.
Burrow, back early on a surgically repaired knee, has completed 72.9 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and four interceptions for the 3-1 Bengals. In the process, he’s called game-winning plays multiple times and managed to have a second-year leap despite the fact he has yet to even play a full 16 games as a pro.
The fact Burrow has thrown at least two touchdowns in each of his first four starts to begin his sophomore season places him in rare company previously only occupied by Peyton Manning, Dan Marino and Kurt Warner:
2nd-Year QBs with 2+ pass TD in each of their team's first 4 games of a season (Super Bowl Era)
HOF Dan Marino in 1984 (Won MVP)
HOF Peyton Manning in 1999 (13-3 that season)
HOF @kurt13warner in 1999 (Won MVP & Super Bowl)@Bengals Joe Burrow @JoeyB in 2021— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) October 1, 2021
Stunning, to say the least, never mind those season-long results for the quarterbacks listed.
We’re not ready to say the Bengals as a team are on the trajectory as some of those epic squads. But Burrow? He’s elite, looks better than last year and every bit the franchise quarterback (never mind hometown kid) the Bengals desperately needed to turn this thing around and get back to winning.
