Joe Burrow made his return after a season-ending injury last year, and here are three key observations for the Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback.
The Bengals got the win on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. As exciting as starting the season 1-0 is for Cincinnati, perhaps the more exciting part of the game was Joe Burrow’s return.
The franchise quarterback showed so much promise last year as a rookie before the injury. The hope all offseason has been that Burrow can quickly regain that form, but the fear is that he could come back skittish and take a long time to adjust back to the game.
For the most part, Burrow was able to have a great return to the NFL. He played well enough to put his team in the best positions possible and orchestrated a game-winning drive in overtime.
While there will always be things to work on, Burrow played as well as anyone would have wanted. Ultimately the players will say the only thing that matters is the win, and Burrow not only did a great job but helped his team win the game.
Here are my three key observations on Joe Burrow in the beginning game, including two things he did well and one thing that will need to be changed moving forward.
Joe Burrow did not try to force the ball, which was encouraging that he made smart plays and reads in his return.
There is a tendency when players get excited, to try and force the ball or throw with so much power that the ball ends up sailing. This is common with young quarterbacks, especially rookies, and players coming back from injury who are a little nervous and excited.
Burrow has not completed a full season’s worth of games yet and he was coming back from a major injury. The nerves were there, but an encouraging sign for Burrow was that he was able to control them really well.
Burrow made smart throws and was, for the most part, on time and on target. This bodes well as the quarterback continues to get more game reps with his starting unit and they can continue building chemistry.
Things started off a little slow as Burrow worked back into the game, but once he got going he never looked back. Throwing for two touchdowns and no interceptions is a perfect way to jump back in with the team. Burrow will only continue to climb as he becomes more comfortable with what he is able to do on his leg and trusts his body more.
When Burrow needed to take a shot, he was able to find Ja’Marr Chase for a big score right before the half.
One of the biggest highlights of the game was seeing the former LSU connections team up again. Joe Burrow dropped back and found Ja’Marr Chase racing down the sideline. The perfectly thrown ball landed in Chase’s waiting hands and he ran the rest of the distance into the endzone. This was a key play that gave the Bengals momentum and confidence going into halftime.
Burrow also had a great throw on fourth down in overtime to C.J. Uzomah, which set up the game-winning field goal. Burrow reportedly called off the initial run play and went with the home run shot instead.
Both of these plays worked to perfection and were encouraging to see from Burrow with so much talent around him, and one of his talents is spreading the field. Burrow looked more comfortable than last year when going long and this was a good thing to see.
If Burrow has improved his deep ball accuracy, this team could quickly expand the field even further and allow each of their talented skill players to have additional room to run. That’s a scary thought for opposing defenses.
Joe Burrow entered the game wanting to take a hit to remember what it feels like, but the offensive line was too porous.
Burrow took his first hit after injury and was able to pop up and continue going in the game.
Then he took another hit.
And another.
And another.
And another.
All in all, the Bengals gave up five sacks and Burrow had to continue moving forward after each one of them.
There are likely a few things that need to change. One is the offensive line needs to get better. There was too much pressure up the middle where a defensive player was immediately in Burrow’s face. Some of these pressures were off basic formations by the defense, but the ones that Burrow needs to focus on are when the defense brings extra pressure.
The part Burrow can work on is recognizing the defensive schemes and helping put blockers where he needs them. Last year, Burrow needed additional help at every position on the offensive line, so he might not have had as much practice at this.
Now, with some positions looking solid, Burrow will need to improve his ability to find the pressure and adapt to it. This could be using a running back or tight end as an extra blocker. Another option is adjusting a quick route to have a player go where the pressure is coming from which generally ends up with that player having some space to run.
Either way, Burrow cannot take five sacks a game. Zac Taylor has an equal part in this, but Burrow will want to make sure he continues analyzing the pressure and coming up with plans to stop it.