Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow can make some NFL history in the regular season opener against the New England Patriots. How can he make history? By throwing three touchdowns in the contest.
Burrow is approaching 100 career passing touchdowns
Burrow enters the season with 97 career passing touchdowns in 52 total games played. With three touchdown passes against New England, Burrow will tie Pro Football Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas (53 games) and Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (53) as the fifth-fastest player to reach 100 career touchdown passes in NFL history.
Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes was the fastest quarterback ever to compile 100 tossing touchdowns, as it took him just 40 total games. Below you can see the full chart of the fastest QBs to reach the milestone, and where Burrow fits in.
Player | Team | Games to reach 100 TDs |
|---|---|---|
Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs | 40 |
Dan Marino | Miami Dolphins | 44 |
Kurt Warner | St. Louis Rams | 50 |
Justin Herbert | L.A. Chargers | 52 |
Johnny Unitas | Baltimore Colts | 53 |
Deshaun Watson | Houston Texans | 53 |
Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals | ? |
Burrow is obviously going to hit the 100-touchdown milestone in the very near future, but will he do it against New England to solidify his spot on the above list? It's certainly possible. Throwing three touchdowns in a single game obviously isn't easy, but it's something that Burrow is no stranger to doing.
In fact, Burrow has thrown three touchdowns in a single game on 16 separate occasions! Most recently, Burrow accomplished the feat against the San Francisco 49ers last October. He also had three touchdowns in a game against the Arizona Cardinals earlier that same month.
Interestingly enough, Burrow also tossed three tuddys the last time the Bengals faced off against New England in December of 2022. Cincinnati won that game 22-18. So, it's certainly something he's capable of doing. He has also thrown four touchdowns in a game four different times.
If Burrow does come out and toss three touchdowns in the first game of the season it will be a great sign considering the fact that it will be his first game since suffering a season-ending wrist injury that required surgery last season. He played very sparingly in the preseason, but the game against the Patriots will be the first real test of the year for the star quarterback.