Bengals: Analyzing Joe Burrow’s charts to see how he’ll attack the Eagles

Analyzing Joe Burrow’s passing charts will give Cincinnati Bengals’ fans a clue as to how the club will attack the Eagles in week three.

The Cincinnati Bengals may be sitting at 0-2 but there is reason for hope among the franchise. Joe Burrow has flashed extraordinary potential in his two starts, capturing not only the attention of the football landscape, but the entire sports world.

The reigning Heisman performed really well against the Cleveland Browns, even though the team came up just short of a win. Looking back at what Burrow excelled in last week can clue fans in on what he will have to do against Philadelphia to get his first win. For this analysis, NFL Next Gen Stats has provided the chart that outlines all of Joe Burrow’s throws last week.

One of the biggest things that jump out is how little success Burrow had on throws over 20 yards. He had six throws that went deep, but only completed one, although it did go for a touchdown.

Burrow will be able to push the safeties farther away from the line of scrimmage (and create more running room for Joe Mixon) if he can complete a few more of these deep throws. This seems like a catch-22 since the best way to complete deep balls is to have an offensive line that can give him time.

Without that talent on the offensive line, the next best way to accomplish the task at hand is to present a consistent deep-ball threat to put the defense on their heels. Without much hope for improvement in the trenches on the horizon, completing two or three long passes will be the best help for this team.

Joe Burrow is excelling on short throws

The other thing to notice is that the young quarterback had a lot of success on short passes. Throws under 10 yards are where the vast majority of his throws go and where most of the completions take place.

This is a great offensive design to make sure Burrow is facing the least amount of pressure possible. It has been frustrating watching teams waltz through the offensive line like they were not there, but the play-calling has been designed to prevent the pressure.

Against Philadelphia, Burrow will need to find a way to stretch the defense a little more than he did last week. Week two was a great way to get Burrow more comfortable throwing the ball and putting more responsibility on the rookie signal-caller.

If he can wait another half second and get more throws between 10-15 yards, he will start to create more space for Joe Mixon. With both of these players clicking, it will be a tough task for any defense to try and slow them down, even if the offensive line does not elevate their play.