Bengals legend has “all the confidence in the world” Joe Burrow can pass him and other past QBs on all-time franchise leaderboard this year
Joe Burrow has noticed he’s only 48 touchdown passes from breaking the Cincinnati Bengals’ all-time record. Former Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson believes he can do it this year.
Joe Burrow has noticed he’s only 48 touchdown passes from breaking the Cincinnati Bengals’ all-time record. He told reporters last week it would be nice to break the record this year.
He’d need 41 to pass Ring of Honor inductee and Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist Ken Anderson for second in team history. Anderson thinks Burrow can do that on his way to passing everyone else he’s yet to pass.
“Heck yeah,” Anderson told Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson. “The way the passing game is nowadays and he’s showed he’s put up those numbers before. So I’ve got all the confidence in the world he can do it.”
Anderson needed 192 games to throw 197 TDs. Andy Dalton needed 129 games to pass him for the record, and finished at 204 TDs after 133 games.
Burrow’s on track of passing 204 in record time, and the path to doing it this year is as doable as Anderson claims.
Joe Burrow closing in on Bengals passing touchdown record
Burrow has played in 77 games for Cincinnati and has thrown 157 TDs. His average of 2.04 TDs per game is already a franchise record, and keeping that pace will allow him to surpass 204 by the middle of the 2027 season.
Dalton and Anderson aren’t the only names currently on top of Burrow on the franchise leaderboard. Boomer Esiason, a former MVP like Anderson, threw 187 TDs in his 134 Bengals games. Burrow can pass Esiason this season by keeping his 2.04 per game average this upcoming season. 17 games multiplied by two scores a game equates to 34 TDs, a mark Burrow has three times in his six-year career. Another 34 would get him to 191; seven from passing Anderson, and 14 from passing Dalton.
How does he get that extra 14? Let’s project the path.
How Burrow can get to 48 passing touchdowns this season
Throwing 48 TDs is no joke. It’s also not a crazy number considering Burrow threw for 43 only two years ago. Cincinnati only went 9-8 in 2024 despite Burrow putting together a full 17-game slate in which he became the first Bengals QB to eclipse 40 TDs in a season.
Reaching another level above that will require a similar distribution compared to 2024. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for 27 receiving scores that season. The other 16 were split between the likes of Andrei Iosivas, Chase Brown, and Mike Gesicki.
I laid out a possible 49-TD distribution for Burrow’s updated list of receivers for the 2026 season (17-game average, and career-high included next to possible 2026 season total).
- WR Ja’Marr Chase: 15 (11.76, 17)
- WR Tee Higgins: 12 (9, 11)
- WR Andrei Iosivas: 5 (4.08, 6)
- TE Mike Gesicki: 5 (3.19, 6)
- WR Colbie Young: 4 (N/A, rookie)
- RB Chase Brown: 4 (3.78, 5)
- TE Tanner Hudson: 2 (0.95, 2)
- TE Drew Sample: 1 (0.89, 2)
- WR Mitchell Tinsley: 1 (1.79, 2)
There’s far from one path for Burrow to reach 48+ TDs this year, but it won’t take much more than him staying healthy and his main targets being near their best this season. Very rarely do both occur in the same year, but possible? Absolutely.
Anderson’s confidence is placed correctly. The Bengals have set themselves up for an offensive explosion this season, and their defense projects to be better in supporting it. It won’t be too shocking for the Hall of Fame-hopeful to watch his name fall down a spot on the franchise leaderboard.