Bengals: Simple stat makes Joe Burrow's season even more iconic
I understand there's not a single stat in the world that will take away the pain from Cincinnati Bengals fans following an AFC Championship loss. But if anything comes close, it has to be one about Joe Burrow's early greatness. While I don't make too much out of Pro Football Focus grades since they remain a […]
I understand there's not a single stat in the world that will take away the pain from Cincinnati Bengals fans following an AFC Championship loss. But if anything comes close, it has to be one about Joe Burrow's early greatness.
While I don't make too much out of Pro Football Focus grades since they remain a subjective way to evaluate players and units, there are instances in which they're definitely worth a look.
At the end of the season, for example, I think it's more than fair to look at unit grades to get an overall picture of how things played out.
And here's one that blows my mind. According to PFF, the Bengals had:
- The #1 passing grade in the NFL and…
- #31 pass blocking
That tells you all you need to know about Joe Burrow. Sure, he has a top-tier group of wide receivers that will send a powerful surge of envy in any other quarterback.
But the Bengals' pass protection won't do that. Not even after the team spent many assets to rebuild the O-line last offseason. Diving deeper into the details provides more reasons to be impressed with Burrow's play behind his protection.
Ted Karras is the highest-graded Bengal in pass protection among qualifying OL. Yet he's 46th in the NFL. To paint a picture, Patrick Mahomes has two OL in the Top 20 (and another one at 38th). Even Josh Allen's shaky OL has a top-25 OL in LT Dion Dawkins.
Alex Cappa ranks as the 70th OL in the league and those two are the only linemen in the league's Top 100 among players who fit the playing time requirements.
While PFF grades aren't perfect, they paint a picture of how much Burrow himself helps the Bengals' pass protection with his pocket awareness and processing on the field. It's not a coincidence that he had the second-fastest time to throw in the entire league.
The Bengals still need to improve their offensive line but it's clear Burrow doesn't need an elite line to perform. That by itself is a huge reason to be excited about the future.
Featured image via Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
