Sunday’s clash between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens saw Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow make some history. In Cincinnati’s 41-21 win over the COVID-19 depleted Ravens (who were starting Josh Johnson at quarterback thanks to COVID issues for Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley), Burrow completed 37 of 46 passes for 525 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. That not only set a team record, it was the fourth-highest yardage total in NFL regular season history. And it set a NFL record for the first player to throw for 900-plus yards against one team in one season:
WHAT A GAME BY JOE BURROW 😤
The fourth most passing yards in a game in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/3RgCcoPXXr
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 26, 2021
Bengals QB Joe Burrow today: 37-of-56, 525 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT.
That's a new record for most passing yards by a Bengals player in franchise history.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 26, 2021
With 525 passing yards, @Bengals Joe Burrow finished 30 yards shy of breaking Norm Van Brocklin's @NFL record for a single-game.
He is the 1st player to pass for 900 yards vs a single team in a season, breaking the record previously shared by Joe Montana and Dan Marino. pic.twitter.com/6ePZK1jcfr
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 26, 2021
Here are some of Burrow’s highlights on the day:
We’ve heard this one before…
JOE BURROW HITS TYLER BOYD DEEEP FOR THE TOUCHDOWN🚀
pic.twitter.com/PPpkcq80aw— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) December 26, 2021
Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins are UNSTOPPABLE today ♨️🔥pic.twitter.com/saqi4jNLUL
— Yahoo Sports NFL (@YahooSportsNFL) December 26, 2021
TEE HIGGINS MOSSED TWO RAVENS 🤯🤯🤯
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/84NAWDjoVE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 26, 2021
This also came as a notable reaction to pre-game comments from Ravens’ defensive coordinator Wink Martindale:
Joe Burrow was playing with a chip on his shoulder 👀 pic.twitter.com/e9eE6FQSsc
— PFF (@PFF) December 26, 2021
Here’s video of Burrow’s response:
Joe Burrow said he definitely heard Wink Martindale’s comment about how it’s too early to give the #Bengals QB a gold jacket 😏 pic.twitter.com/3ToOGF9NSz
— KimberlEY A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) December 26, 2021
At any rate, Burrow definitely came out with a gold jacket-level performance this week. And he’s hurt the Ravens an unprecedented amount this year. His Bengals are now 9-6 on the year and atop the AFC North, ahead of the Ravens (8-7), the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-8-1) and the Cleveland Browns (7-8). We’ll see where they go from here, but he sure led them to an impressive win Sunday.
[NFL.com; photo from Kareem Elgazzar/The Cincinnati Enquirer, via USA Today Sports]