Best From Joe Burrow
Pocket awareness
Burrow has an innate sense for pressure when he is in the pocket. While not a classic scrambler, he can still scoot and will use his legs when he sees fit. Unfortunately for the first two weeks of this season, he struggled with his pocket awareness. A big part of that was the lack of reps with the offensive line and communication issues with them. There were times when Burrow got dumped on his butt because he didn't feel backside pressure and slid right into a defender.
In Week 2, Burrow even looked to have the dreaded "happy feet" on occasion. He simply didn't know where his linemen were going to be around him. The difference against the Jets was night and day. Joe slid, shuffled, and maneuvered around rushers, deftly scrambling and buying time for receivers to get open. Hence the big games from Boyd and Higgins. Burrow looked to have an entirely different comfort level Sunday with his line communication-wise, and the lack of offensive holding or procedure penalties demonstrate that.
Accuracy was on point
After being a little scattershot the first two weeks, Burrow was much more accurate against the Jets. He had more time to throw, which is obviously a big factor, but he was making throws that he hadn't been so far this season. One of the Franchise's strengths is throwing receivers open. In other words, if Burrow sees that the ball has to be put on the outside shoulder on a sideline route in order to make the receiver open, he can put it there.
I noticed at least twice where he intentionally underthrew a receiver to put the ball on the opposite side of the body from where the defender was. Not to mention the pass in the end zone to Higgins that ultimately was called out of bounds. Regardless of whether it was a good or bad call, Joe Shiesty put that ball in the spot that he knew only Higgins could reach. Burrow knows what he has in Tee Higgins and how Higgins can high point the ball, so a pass that looked on TV like an intentional throwaway out of the end zone was in fact perfectly placed for Higgins. It was no accident.
The dude took some sketchy hits but kept winging it
I'm not going to say there were some intentionally dirty hits by the Jets, but if the NFL is truly concerned with player safety, some of these guys need to start getting suspensions or ejections. The cheap shot on Higgins on Sunday was egregious and intentional. That shouldn't be happening.
Burrow also absorbed some questionable hits, even drawing a rare penalty. The hit to his knee was particularly bad, as he immediately grabbed it and winced in pain. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a Carson Palmer/ Kimo Von Oelhoffen flashback there.
The unnecessary chuck to the ground after he had released the ball is the type of useless and cheap play that can break a collarbone or dislocate a shoulder. Is that really what the league wants to happen to one of its marquee players? We are lucky that Burrow has that Southern Ohio grit and toughness and was able to bounce back up and maintain his composure. That type of determination and focus is rare in the NFL, which is why we are lucky to have Joe Burrow.
That will do it for the best and worst from the Jets game. It's a short week, the Dolphins are coming to town on national TV, and the city is in the spotlight. Let's hope the good vibes from Sunday last, and we get the record back to .500 Thursday night.