Joe Burrow claims he's the best QB on the planet, and these stats totally back him up

If you're a follower of the NFL, and you believe Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is a so-called "weapons merchant" who would be nothing without Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, you're what I'd call and "out of touch" or "unreachable" human being.

Miss me with that type of ignorance. As if hyper-specific quarterback rankings or a mass survey of powerful figures across the league aren't enough to validate Burrow's greatness, there are some idiots out there who still don't believe. It's like that meme of a backpack hanging by a thread, where everyone implores the backpack carrier to, "LET IT GO!"

So I say: Let it go if you're clinging to any fictions or delusions about how phenomenal of a player Joe Burrow is. Or at least be willing to for the moment while I lay out the argument that he's the best QB on the planet.

Oh, by the way? His words. Not mine. Well not verbatim, but in an interview with SI insider Albert Breer, Burrow explained why he views himself as the very best:

"I’m not sure I would say anyone is playing the position better than I am right now...I'm pretty confident in my ability to go out and do that every Sunday. Now, it’s just showing that consistency, showing it year in and year out. I think what separates the legends is being able to do it year in, year out for five, 10 years at a time. So, trying to be able to find that consistency in my discipline and my process, doing the easy stuff in my sleep and then making the hard stuff look easy, then making a couple of great plays here and there, that’s what I am trying to do every week."

As the headline of this article promises, the numbers do not lie. Burrow's self-assessment isn't hollow hubris. It's based in cold, hard facts.

Joe Burrow thrives in spite of Bengals' porous offensive line

We don't need to belabor any points in the first two sections. Anyone with eyeballs and a fraction of ball knowledge understands that the pass protection for Burrow has been suboptimal ever since he landed in Cincinnati in 2020. I will share this stat until my brain leaks out of my ears, or until the Bengals do something to fix it once and for all.

Nobody navigates a messy or collapsing pocket better than Burrow. All of his peers like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson play behind far superior offensive lines year in and year out.

If you, reader, recall: Both times Mahomes played in a Super Bowl with his o-line banged up, the Chiefs were blown off the field. Burrow stood in against a Rams defensive front starring Aaron Donald, Von Miller, and Leonard Floyd with almost all practice squad-caliber blockers — and came within three points of a Lombardi Trophy.

Although the situation has improved to some degree of late — at least in terms of the Bengals' willingness to spend money/draft capital to upgrade — far too many of the trench reinforcements haven't been good enough.

Burrow is the best pre-snap QB in the game. He can get the Bengals into the right play at every turn. In the rare event they're not in a good look, he can diagnose defensive disguises at rapid speed once the ball is snapped and throw it to where the defense isn't expecting him to. Or, Burrow can extend when the play breaks down and make opponents pay when he improvises.

Bengals defense only adds to Joe Burrow's degree of difficulty

To be somewhat fair to the o-line, part of the reason they have to pass so often is because the defense puts them in that position. At least that's certainly been true over the last two seasons, when the Bengals missed the playoffs with 9-8 records and Burrow suffered a devastating wrist injury to cut his 2023 campaign short.

Exhibit B for "degree of difficulty" points that should indubitably matter in any meaningful quarterback debate:

And bear in mind, those defensive expected points added numbers are with Trey Hendrickson having 17.5 sacks in each of those seasons. That brings me to my next point, which is perhaps the grandest of all, as Hendrickson awaits a contract extension he has more than earned.

Joe Burrow is carrying the Bengals organization to relevance

Although the low perception of the Bengals franchise is a little hyperbolic compared to the actual reality, upper management and ownership continue to make highly avoidable blunders that damage their brand and reputation.

While it's out of anyone's control that Cincinnati, once again, fields the NFL's lowest-valued team at $5.5 billion this year (per Sportico), the NFLPA report cards that released back in February displayed ultra-low letter grades for the Bengals in key areas relative to the other 31 teams:

• Treatment of Families: F- (32nd)
• Food/Dining Area: F (32nd)
• Nutritionist/Dietician: C (32nd)

This is obviously less to do with what's happening on the field and more to do with the organizational hurdles Burrow is confronted with on a daily basis. They have the smallest scouting department, for one. That only decreases their margin for error in talent evaluation. It's led to a lot of whiffs in the draft to bolster the aforementioned problem areas on defense and the offensive line.

Credit where it's due in certain areas of improvement, though. The Bengals have handsomely paid Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. They've been more proactive in free agency during the Burrow era by their standards. They secured a new naming rights deal for Paycor Stadium to bring in more revenue. Invested in a practice bubble. Built out a brand-new locker room.

But just consider all that for a second. These things should be the bare minimum for what a franchise should do for its quarterback in his prime. For whatever reason, it's like pulling teeth.

When you can't get simple things right, like treating your most esteemed player alums with the appropriate respect, the negative feedback loop about your organizational identity commences all over again.

The Bengals can quite easily avoid these things. They just choose not to. They choose not to press the salary cap every single year to maximize the on-field resources around Burrow. That has put him in harm's way to say the least, leading to two season-ending injuries in five prior seasons.

If Cincinnati's front office and Mike Brown are able to sleep at night, knowing they did everything possible to deliver the first Super Bowl in team history, so be it. There's a zero point zero percent chance that is how they feel. They know it. The fans know it. Anyone who casually follows the NFL knows it.

Yet Joe Burrow presses on. The best quarterback in the world. He defied the odds to ascend to all-time legendary status in college. he defied the odds by leading the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in his second season, coming off a career-threatening knee injury. He overcame an unprecedented injury to a QB last year to play at an MVP level.

What more can Burrow do? That's the wrong question. The right question is, what more can the Bengals do to do right by him. The answer? Quite a lot.

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