Bengals' win over Rams was the first of its kind in the Joe Burrow era
The Cincinnati Bengals won a football game, and quarterback Joe Burrow made it through unscathed. As Hulk said in Avengers: Endgame upon discovering time travel via the Quantum Realm, "I see this as an absolute win." It was absolutely a different kind of win for the Bengals, because for the first time with Burrow as the […]
The Cincinnati Bengals won a football game, and quarterback Joe Burrow made it through unscathed. As Hulk said in Avengers: Endgame upon discovering time travel via the Quantum Realm, "I see this as an absolute win."
It was absolutely a different kind of win for the Bengals, because for the first time with Burrow as the signal-caller, the team won despite him playing well below his standard.
Burrow's passer rating of 59.8 has become his lowest in a victory since being drafted in 2020. His previous low was 81.0, which came during last year's Wild Card win over the Baltimore Ravens, making Monday night the first time he finished below 80 in a win. Hat tip to NFL.com for pointing it out first.
Monday was the 11th time in 52 total games Burrow's passer rating fell short of this telling, but arbitrary, figure. Four of those games came during his rookie year, and over half occurred during the first five weeks of the given season.
But this wasn't just a regular off day, it was his second-worst start from a passer rating perspective in his career. The only worse outing came two weeks ago in the season opener against the Cleveland Browns.
Joe Burrow Sub-80 Passer Rating Games
| Rating | Opponent | Result | Year | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
52.2 | Browns | L (3-24) | 2023 | 1 |
59.8 | Rams | W (19-16) | 2023 | 3 |
61.7 | Steelers | L (20-23) | 2022 | 1 |
66.1 | Chargers | L (13-16) | 2020 | 1 |
66.2 | Bears | L (17-20) | 2021 | 2 |
66.4 | Ravens | L (3-27) | 2020 | 5 |
69.0 | Browns | L (16-41) | 2021 | 9 |
70.2 | Chiefs | L (20-23) | 2023 | 21 |
70.8 | Chargers | L (22-41) | 2021 | 13 |
76.4 | Steelers | L (10-36) | 2020 | 10 |
78.3 | Colts | L (27-31) | 2020 | 6 |
Stathead
A fine mix of close losses, games that looked closer than they were, and straight blowouts. Never a close win until Monday evening. The fact that the Bengals were able to do it while Burrow was battling through shoddy footwork with his calf just makes it more impressive.
A win's a win in the eyes of the quarterback, but the standard is clearly a lot higher.
"There were bright spots," Burrow said after his gutsy performance. "Obviously got the win, but there's still so much room to improve. Lot of things left out on the field."
23 incompletions on 49 attempts would definitely back that sentiment up.
Passer rating is far from a perfect statistic. It negates the impact of sacks, rushing yards, and the positive outcomes that aren't always reflected in total yards or touchdowns. Games like this one are better encapsulated by it because additional evidence backs it up.
Burrow's Expected Points Added per play was a mere -0.11. His success rate a lowly 38%. He had no positive runs, obviously, and hit on one explosive play all night. On Monday night, passer rating did indeed tell the whole story.
It helps when the defense makes life equally hard for the other quarterback. Matthew Stafford's passer rating of 66.4 was the lowest out of any opposing quarterbacks from those 10 other games featuring Burrow underperforming. A better game from Stafford could've easily led to a Rams victory instead.
The Bengals' defense had other plans, sacking him six times (officially) and intercepting him twice.
There is no underlying theme hidden from the numbers. It's extremely difficult to win games when the quarterback is playing poorly. Whether or not the reasoning is rock solid, the Bengals got poor quarterback play from Burrow and they won despite it for the very first time.
And they may need to do it again very soon.
Bengals got more than a win on Monday Night Football
All good vibes in Cincinnati.
Featured image via © Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports
