NFL
Joe Burrow Is Officially in the Same Class as Dan Marino and Peyton Manning
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sports7 in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
Get to know Tim Crean betterUpdated23 Oct 2022
When the Cincinnati Bengals took LSU quarterback Joe Burrow No. 1 overall in the 2020 draft, the former “Bungles” franchise found a good one. The Ohio native showed promise in his rookie season before going out in Week 11 with a devastating knee injury. Burrow then made an incredible recovery and made it back the next season to take his team to the Super Bowl.
The 2022 season didn't start great for Joey B and the Bengals, but after an 0-2 start, the team has won four of its last five. In Week 7, with a 35-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati is now on the winning side of the ledger for the year.
And throughout the incredible start to his career, there is one thing Burrow has done better than nearly anyone in NFL history. Throw the deep ball for touchdowns.
Joe Burrow set a deep ball record in Week 7 of the 2022 NFL season
To open the Bengals Week 7 game vs. the Falcons, Joe Burrow threw two short passes and handed off once. Then, on the team's fourth play from scrimmage, the 25-year-old signal-caller unleashed a deep ball to wide-open wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who walked into the end zone for a 60-yard touchdown.
That score put the Bengals up 7-0, starting a spectacular first-half offensive explosion (more on that below). It also put Burrow in an elite group of NFL QBs that only includes Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Namath, and now, Burrow.
The club that Burrow joined with that bomb to Boyd includes all the QBs who've thrown 13 or more 50-plus-yard touchdown passes before the age of 26, per NFL Research.
Burrow now has 13, tying him with Namath. He's one behind Mahomes and Manning and three behind Marino's 16. The former LSU Tiger almost moved up a notch later in eth Falcons game but could “only” connect with Ja'Marr Chase on 32- and 41-yard TD passes.
There is still a chance Burrow could climb this impressive ladder in the next few weeks. He has five more games before he turns 26 on December 10, 2022.
The Bengals had a great game vs. the Falcons, and it only took one half
RELATED: Hall of Famer Dan Marino's Career Is a Terrifying Warning to Joe Burrow and Cincinnati Bengals Fans
Any time a quarterback can join a club that includes future Hall of Famer Patrick Mahomes and three current Hall of Famers like Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, and Joe Namath, it's impressive.
However, Joe Burrow wasn't the only member of the Bengals offense to make history in the first half of the team's big win over the Falcons.
According to NFL Research, Burrow's two wideouts, Tyler Boyd and Ja'Marr Chase are “the first WR duo to each have 100+ rec yards & a rec TD in a single half since Randy Moss and Wes Welker did so with the Patriots in Week 6, 2009 (a snowy 59-0 win over the Titans).”
Burrow had an incredible half as well. The signal-caller was 14-of-16 for 228 yards with two touchdowns. And when the Bengals left the field for the locker room at halftime, the QB was 21-of-25 for 345 yards and three TDs.
The final stat line for the Bengals passer was 34-of-42 for 481 yards and three touchdowns.
Most importantly, though, the Bengals kept pace with the Ravens and moved to 4-1 atop the AFC North. The team's next chance to light up the box score comes in Week 8 vs. the Cleveland Browns.
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