On Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium, Joe Burrow had the best game of his career. In this pivotal matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, Burrow was simply fantastic. The Bengals signal-caller set the Cincinnati Bengals franchise record for passing yards in a game at 525, to go along with four touchdown passes. This win puts Cincinnati at 9-6 with tiebreakers over both the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers for winning the division. Burrow was masterful in all aspects, including short to intermediate routes, deep shots, and protecting the ball with no interceptions. As the AFC North and the entire AFC continue to tighten, this win was massive for the Bengals playoffs odds. Burrow and the team seem to be heating up and are starting to play some of the best football in the NFL. Cincinnati hopes this trend continues the final two weeks of the season.
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Joe Burrow Sets Franchise Game Record For Passing Yards vs. Ravens
On the biggest stages, in critical moments of games, great players rise to the occasion and play their best. This has certainly been the case in the young career of Burrow. Huge moment after huge moment, Burrow has stepped up to put the Bengals on his shoulders as they look to win the AFC North for the first time since 2015. The Ravens had no answer for the Bengals passing attack as Burrow seems fully healthy following his knee injury last year. The most important byproducts of this have been his willingness to scramble and pocket mobility, which has been superb the last two games.
WHO DEY think gonna stop Joe Burrow?@JoeyB | #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/PEyeJFyuF0
— NFL (@NFL) December 27, 2021
Air It Out
The Bengals are at their best when they are in empty sets and letting Burrow diagnose pre-snap formations to get advantageous matchups. Having the skill players on the outside that can dominate in their own ways also helps. When teams started taking Ja’Marr Chase away, the Bengals gladly obliged and made Tee Higgins the focal point of the offense.
THAT'S A CATCH. @teehiggins5 has 128 receiving yards in the first half.
Watch on CBS pic.twitter.com/xPVQU47ec2
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 26, 2021
This catch by Higgins shows how dangerous he is when the ball is in the air. The length he has coupled with his body control all the way through the catch is phenomenal. Higgins ended the day with a career-high 194 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Chase also had a stellar day with 125 receiving yards to go along with Tyler Boyd’s long touchdown to get the party started.
BURROW TO BOYD FOR A 68-YARD TD. THAT'S BIG LEVELS.
Watch on CBS pic.twitter.com/p0PqwN1dgu
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 26, 2021
Killer Instinct
Having the ability to put teams away is one of the more difficult aspects for a young team to learn how to do. The Bengals are developing this ability at a rapid rate and it’s coming at the most opportune time. Burrow noted after the game about developing that killer instinct, “We’re getting there, we’re getting there. Today I was really excited about how aggressive we were after we got up because we’ve had some points in the year where we get up a couple touchdowns, three scores and such, and we get less aggressive. It’s tough. We stayed aggressive today. We were able to score every time we touched the ball.” After sweeping the Ravens and Steelers this season, the Bengals are checking off boxes seemingly every week. The next big one is winning the division. It all starts this Sunday against the AFC leading Kansas City Chiefs.
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