In the Cincinnati Bengals’ bludgeoning 34-11 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday, star quarterback Joe Burrow once again etched his name into NFL record books. This time, at the start of the second half, Burrow found his running back Joe Mixon on a quick throw out of the backfield, which resulted in a 40-yard touchdown strike.
That was Burrow’s second touchdown thrown on the day and marked his sixth consecutive game with at least two touchdown passes to start the year. Only the great Dan Marino has accomplished said feat within his first two seasons.
With 3 TD passes in today's @Bengals victory, Joe Burrow (@JoeyB) joins @ProFootballHOF QB @DanMarino as the only 1st or 2nd year QBs with 2+ TD passes in each of their team's 1st 6 games of a season in @NFL history. pic.twitter.com/TUNNI38Sf8
— NFL345 (@NFL345) October 17, 2021
How much longer does Joe Burrow have to go to break the record?
However, Burrow’s got his work cut out for him if he wants to tie or overtake this record. The Hall of Famer, Marino, jumped out to an outrageously impressive start in his second season. In 1984, he threw five touchdowns in his first game and that began a streak of 10 — yes, 10 — consecutive games with at least two or more touchdown passes.
That season, he had streaks of 10 and five games with two or more touchdown passes — meaning, there was only one game he didn’t throw for two or more scores. Marino led his Dolphins to a 15-1 record that year and took home both MVP and AFC Offensive Player of the Year honors.
At the end of that year, Marino had firmly established himself as one of the best quarterbacks the game had ever seen to that point. He did that in just two seasons.
What has Burrow done so far?
Although his rookie season was cut short due to injury, Burrow was a standout quarterback in year one. He set the NFL rookie mark for completions in a game with 31 in just his second game and became the first rookie in history to throw for 300 yards in three consecutive games.
This season, at 4-2, Burrow’s led the Bengals to their best start since 2018. If he can keep up the great play against the streaking hot Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals have a chance at taking the AFC North lead and getting closer to their first playoff appearance in six years. And with his 14 touchdowns and the Bengals success, he also has a chance at notching his first Pro Bowl at the end of the year.
Burrow ended Sunday’s game with three touchdown passes and kept the streak alive. How many more games will he be able to keep it going?