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There is Joe Cool, Joe B-r-r-r, Seamless Joe, Joey Franchise and just plain Joey B.
But on Sunday Joe Burrow gave us Twilight Zone Joe when he explored the fifth dimension and turned a face plant into an NFL record while leading the Bengals to a 24-6 staying alive win over the Browns Sunday at Paycor Stadium.
And that was before he flipped one of his league-leading completions over his shoulder.
"That was another Houdini play right there," said wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase of the touchdown catch that gave them the lead they never lost at 7-0. "I'm not going to lie. I just saw him falling forward, throwing."
Burrow was at the end of one of those seminal drives for a season, a 99.5-yard march the first time they got their hands on it Sunday. From the two yard-line, Burrow did what he always does and went leaping through the pocket while other quarterbacks simply climb the pocket.
He saw Chase doubled-covered. He knew tight end Mike Gesicki was on a crossing route. Then Burrow's feet collided with the feet of center Ted Karras at about the same time he saw wide receiver Tee Higgins breaking wide open over the middle.
As he plummeted face first, he had enough presence of mind, not to mention pure, uncut athleticism, to get rid of it just before his chin hit the turf.
No one knows how. Especially Burrow. His brother texted the photo to him, no doubt wondering the same thing.
"I was parallel. I don't know how I threw it, but that one was pretty cool," said Burrow, who says he may post that picture. "I need to do a better job at just picking my feet up in pocket. I don't know how Tee got so open. I'll have to see it on tape, but he obviously ran a great route and saw him open enough to try that throw and was able to execute it.
"I saw him as I was starting to move up in the pocket. As I was falling down, I was like, 'Got to try to get it to him any way that I can.' I thought my knee might be down because I'd never been in that position throwing a football before, but I was able to keep it up."
BROKEN RECORD
Burrow did it again, only this time he went even bigger. A week after he broke his own Bengals record for touchdown passes in a season with 36, he set the NFL record with his seventh straight game throwing for at least 250 yards and three touchdowns.
"I work really hard for this. I put a lot into going out and playing well on Sundays," said Burrow, now three games away from tying Tom Brady's record of ten straight games with three touchdown passes.
"When you get a record and when you make big-time plays, I'm trying to get better at appreciating those and being excited about that. That hasn't really been who I am, but I think if I want to have the longevity that I want to, I need to appreciate and be excited about things like that, so that's exciting for me."
The three touchdown passes put him ahead of Lamar Jackson again in the NFL race, 39-37.
JA'MARR AGAIN
But, as always, Burrow has a flair for the dramatic. At the two-minute warning, he was short of the record. He had 220 yards and two touchdowns, and as the Bengals drained the clock up, 17-6, Chase urged the coaches to put in rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton.
But on second-and-six from the Browns 32, wide receivers coach Troy Walters told Chase he might want to re-think that since the play call was "Whiskey."
Whatever that is, Chase took a shot, and it turned into a free drink because Browns sack ace Myles Garrett jumped offsides and Chase got behind the secondary and caught a lob by himself.
Chase, who continues to lead all the spots for the receiver Triple Crown, could only shake his head at his good fortune.
"I went out there and it was just nothing but God at that point that it got called," Chase said. "I was looking out for Jermaine.
"(Burrow) just tried to look the safety off, he looked the safety off for a long time, and he just threw it in the air."
On that play, Chase became the first Bengal receiver or rusher to get 1,500 yards in a season.
"It's a blessing man. Honestly, it's a blessing," Chase said. "To sit here and say that I didn't want to go in on that last play, and that one catch got me to 1,500. So, it's nothing but a blessing and I couldn't have been happier but thank God at that point."
DUKE OF YORK
You've got a game with NFL leaders Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson, but it is emergency kicker Cade York who ends up tying a franchise record.
On the last play of a first half, York became the first player in the 55-season "Battle of Ohio," rivalry to score for both teams in the series. He drilled a 59-yard field goal that tied the record for the Bengals' longest field goal Evan McPherson set in the 2022 opener.
What a moment for York, a fourth-round pick of the Browns two years ago who hasn't hit one longer than 37 yards since that rookie year.
"No ill will," said York of the team that has cut him twice. "I love all those guys over there... That would have been good against any team."
Burrow helped it along with a quick dish to running back Chase Brown on third-and-18 and when the Browns didn't call timeout as the Bengals lined up to punt on fourth-and-14, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor let the clock run down to three seconds and called a timeout to bring on York and let him get set with holder Ryan Rehkow and long snapper Cal Adomitis.
Special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons had checked before that with York on where he was comfortable taking a long one.
"I told him the 39 or 40. It was the 41. Plus or minus one, you might as well take it," York said. "I might have celebrated a little bit early. I turned and high-fived Ryan and I said, 'Wait a second. It's pretty cold out here. Let's make sure that actually made it.'"
It actually barely cleared the crossbar on a 33-degree day ("It was cold. Not crazy cold, but the ball just wasn't flying very much") to give the Bengals a 17-0 halftime lead.
In the Dept. of You Can't Make This Stuff Up, York's long of 58 yards had come for the Browns in his NFL debut on the same day McPherson set his record at Paycor. McPherson was on this sideline Sunday resting the groin injury that brought York here.
"September in Carolina. A little bit different," York said. "It felt really good off the foot."
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DRAFT DAILY DOUBLE
"It's why they drafted us," rookie defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson said.
Jackson, one of their third-round picks, and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr., their second-round pick, each got a game ball Sunday. Jackson because he got his first NFL sack working against Pro Bowl guard Wyatt Teller, and Jenkins because he had his first two-sack game since Our Lady of Good Counsel High School.
"One and a half?" said Jenkins of his collegiate high at Michigan.
Jackson made a deal with safety Jordan Battle early in the week. It will be recalled last Sunday in Tennessee, Jackson forced a fumble and just as Battle was about to convert it into a 61-yard return touchdown, he lost the handle and it became a touchback.
"I told JB he owed me a game ball," Jackson said.
Battle ended up getting it after he hauled in a huge red-zone interception on the third play of the fourth quarter when the Browns had reached the Bengals 8 in a 17-6 game.
"He came through," Jackson said. "I didn't think we'd both get one in the same game."
Jenkins, making his fifth straight start since Sheldon Rankins fell ill in Los Angeles, keeps making plays. His first sack of the game came in a nice moment, late in the first quarter on the first snap after York missed a 47-yarder. Jenkins chased down Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson's bootleg. It spawned every celebration he could think of, including an homage to Hendrickson's index finger to the sky.
"That was in the moment. Everything ended up popping out. Baseball swing. Trbute to Trey. Bear crawl. Everything flooded out. I didn't know what to do with myself."
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SLANTS AND SCREENS
Burrow's voiceover killed the Browns' script as much as his arm on the first and last snaps of the game.
Chase's touchdown was basically on their last play of the day, outside of backup quarterback Jake Browning's knee. Go back to the first play of the game when safety Vonn Bell forced a fumble on the Bengals' half-yard line, where the Bengals started their drive.
In order to get away from the goalposts, Burrow went with a funky cadence, and it drew Browns middle linebacker Mohamoud Diabate offsides.
"It's the ultimate weapon. He really is the best in the (cadence) business," Zac Taylor said. "For years I watched Aaron Rodgers do this to people over and over, and on third down get free plays. We got three or four of them last week and two today. The backed-up one, on the one, was huge and resulted in a touchdown. …
Bell is used to saving playoff runs. It will be recalled when the Bengals were closing in on the 2022 AFC North title, they needed him to punch the ball out of the arms of Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson at the Bengals 5 with a minute left to preserve a 22-18 Christmas Eve win at Foxborough.
Bell, who has lost his starting job this season to Battle, said, "I don't live in the past," when asked how similar the play was.
Burrow knows how huge it was. In the first minute of the game the Browns have first down at the Bengals 11 and suddenly get no points.
"I've seen Vonn make that exact play countless times. Saved the game in New England, doing that same thing," Burrow said. "That's the kind of guy that Vonn is. He's never going to quit. He's hit some adversity this year, and battled through it, and makes game-changing plays for us. He's everything you could ask for in a veteran guy, that young guys can look up to." …
Taylor was asked about an animated conversation between offensive line coach Frank Pollack and rookie right tackle Amarius Mims.
"That's football, man. It's not all easy. It's not at all. We've just got to work through that stuff. We're good," Taylor said.
Mims battled back with a left ankle injury and came back in after sitting out before going out for good. Taylo's not sure how bad it is, but he knows for the second straight week Devin Cochran came off the bench to give them a lift in a win.
Last week, it was his first NFL start at left tackle. On Sunday, it was replacing Mims on the right …
For the second straight game against the Browns, backup left tackle Cody Ford made sure Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, didn't take over the game. Back in October, Garrett didn't get a sack. On Sunday, he got one, but only got to Burrow twice.
"I thought they did an admirable job. Cody is always consistent. Cody does a great job. He's blocking Myles Garrett all day," Burrow said. "Cody did an unbelievable job on him all day.
"You saw Devin come in last week and play really well for us, and now he has to go in at right tackle. He's always ready for his opportunity, too. It has to be tough when you're just sitting on the sideline, cold, not expecting to go in. And then all of the sudden, you get thrown in there and now you have to go block an edge rusher that's been warm all day, frothing at the mouth trying to get a sack. I wouldn't want to be in that position, but I think they do a good job." …
