Joe Burrow has always had a flair for the dramatic and an ability to be excellent, and both were on display on Sunday afternoon for the former LSU legendary quarterback.
Now a veteran signal-caller for the Cincinnati Bengals, Burrow led his team to a thrilling, 43-36 overtime victory over the visiting Tennessee Titans, which was wonderful and memorable in itself.
But the 3-time Pro Bowler and the guy who led LSU to a national championship in 2019 was the biggest reason why Cincinnati survived on Sunday despite giving up all those points to the lowly Titans.
The 29-year-old who spent 2 seasons in Baton Rouge in 2018 and 2019 added another milestone to his growing career list in college and the NFL. Burrow became the second quarterback in NFL history to have 450 yards passing, 5 touchdown passes and 1 rushing TD in a single game.
The only other signal-caller to do what Burrow did on Sunday was Pro Football Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin, who in 1951 set the NFL single-game record with 554 yards passing. So, it took exactly 75 years for that stat line to be achieved again, and Burrow was the man that did it.
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Burrow’s exact stat line from Sunday’s victory that improved the Bengals to 5-2 — 38 of 48 for 462 yards passing with 5 touchdown passes and 1 TD run. So, Burrow made the ultra-exclusive list that now includes just himself and Van Brocklin, and Burrow managed to do it on a chaotic afternoon when he also threw 3 interceptions.
The guy who the Bengals invested heavily in their future with by taking Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft persevered through those 3 picks and put up numbers not seen since Van Brocklin worked his magic back in 1951 with the Los Angeles Rams.
Burrow now has 20 touchdown passes on the season to go with 2 rushing TDs, and just as importantly he pushed the Bengals to a huge home victory, with his 9-yard rushing touchdown in overtime providing the winning points for Cincinnati on a day he’ll likely never forget.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
