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Joe Burrow’s December heroics began against these Broncos three years ago at Mile High when he led the Bengals to a huge playoff-like win during their Super Bowl run and he hopes to keep it going Saturday at Paycor Stadium against Denver in his bid to keep the Bengals' playoff hopes alive.
Since Burrow engineered a 15-10 victory on Dec. 19, 2021, to stop a two-game losing streak, he's 9-1 in December games to go with a 112.6 passer rating that features 73% passing and 28 touchdown passes against eight interceptions. The only loss came three weeks ago at Paycor against the Steelers, 44-38, in a game he kept his effort alive to make history of his own.
It was one of seven straight games he has thrown at least three touchdown passes. On Saturday, he attempted to join Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck with eight straight on an all-time list only Tom Brady is ahead of them with 10 straight games of at least three touchdown passes.
JOE GYMBOREE
The only thing that's the same with that '21 Denver defense and this one is that they're both good. Burrow beat a Broncos defense that finished No. 8 overall with just 22 passes, his third-fewest attempts in a game. That's not going to be the case Saturday with Burrow the hottest quarterback in the land against Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, a former Bengals assistant who has Denver at No. 9 in the rankings.
Burrow is having a nice run against the best defenses. He has faced a top-five scoring defense in Week 8 or later 11 times during his career and is 7-4 with a 22-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Denver is fourth in points allowed.
So if it's December and it's Burrow, look for some holiday magic. The Browns are a middle-of-the pack defense, but Burrow treated it rudely, too, last week, particularly with two out-of-the-world throws that have people talking even as this game is about to get underway.
He threw a two-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tee Higgins even though he was falling down after clicking feet with center Ted Karras. He chalked it up to offseason work in the weight room even before he began spring workouts.
"I've been in that exact same spot a couple times this year in games and haven't quite connected on the throws," Burrow said this week. "I've got reps of doing that, just putting your body in weird positions, and having to use different parts of your body to get enough velocity on it. And this is the most I've ever really done that. We kind of learn on the fly. The more I did it early in the year, the better equipped I was to execute it later in the year. And you saw that on Sunday, I think."
Burrow says he got his body ready to make those throws during the portion of the offseason he works with his long-time trainer Dak Notestine.
"I think whenever you're in a position like that, you have to use your body's momentum to understand how to get it off, and you have to put your arm in a position to keep it from just going right into the dirt," Burrow said. "You have to understand when you're going to hit the ground, how your upper body is going to move, and you have to calculate that depending on where the receiver is. The more that I'm doing that this year, the better I'm going to be at it. Because you bank those reps and you understand more and more of those kinds of things."
TURNOVER TALE
The Bengals defense comes in hot, too, with 11 turnovers that lead the league the last three weeks. Denver is second with nine. With 53, the Bengals have allowed the third fewest points since Dec. 8. Some players are suggesting it's because defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has simplified things.
He doesn't think so, but he's all for whatever helps a growing depth chart of young players.
"We still have our menu of things we're going to do … I haven't said, 'Hey, we're cutting out 10 defenses,'" Anarumo said this week. "But maybe if something that was practiced and wasn't repped as much during the game that I still feel like can fit into this game plan, we'll kind of carry it over. There's some of that going on, but we're still doing what we do. I think if they feel it that way, that's great.
"If it was kind of in (the game plan) and we didn't use it as much or didn't use it at all and it fits, I might not have been so apt to do as we had in the past. Now I'm just keeping it. We've got these young guys and 'Hey, they've got reps on that, so let's just go ahead and use it.'"
DENVER D
Running back Chase Brown is looking to do Sunday what no one else in Bengals history has done and go six straight games with at least 100 scrimmage yards. Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis went five straight in 2012 and wide receiver A.J. Green did it again the next year.
But Brown's most important job Sunday may be without the ball because the Broncos blitz 30% of the time, sixth most in the league. They've not only logged the NFL's most sacks, but also the second-highest pressure percentage and the fourth-highest hurry percentage, via Pro Football Reference.
"They play a lot of five-man fronts," said offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher this week. "Whether it's nickel or base, it's a backer on the end of the line who's often coming, not all the time but most of the time. It's a high blitz percentage. A lot of that is not any type of exotic pressure. It's just the fifth guy who's already on the end of the line, but they've got the exotic stuff too. When you get him passing situations, (Joseph is) going to challenge you."
Joseph can bring it because of his two highly-rated cornerbacks who play so well in man-to-man, Pro Football Focus No. 1 cornerback Patrick Surtain II, and Riley Moss.
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Sunday’s inactives saw wide receiver Charlie Jones (groin) miss his eighth straight game and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (illness) miss his sixth straight …
Tight end Tanner Hudson (knee) missed a second straight game …
As did defensive end Sam Hubbard (knee) …
On the offensive line, Cody Ford was slated to start at left guard while backup Andrew Stueber was inactive …
Why mess with a good thing? Bengals head coach Zac Taylor didn't when he sent out for his game captains the same trio during the three-game winning streak: Burrow and his wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins ...
