Joe Burrow's revenge: Why Bengals QB could be in for a big Week 2 vs. Jaguars after season-opening struggles

You might want to bet the over on Burrow's passing yards this week

CINCINNATI -- After a 2024 season where Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals offense had to carry the team nearly every week, a funny thing happened in Week 1: It was the defense that carried the load for the Bengals during the team's dramatic 17-16 win over the Cleveland Browns. 

The Bengals won the game despite putting up just 7 yards in the second half, which included a nightmare fourth quarter where they totaled -18 yards. And just so we're all on the same page, yes, that is a negative sign in front of the 18. Their yardage total was the lowest by any NFL team in the fourth quarter of a game since at least 1991. 

Despite the offensive struggles, Burrow actually sounded upbeat following the victory. 

"We didn't win any of these games last year. Usually when you can win a game like this, that's a recipe for success and that means you are going to be a good team if you can find a lot of different ways to win and we did."

Burrow threw for just 113 yards, which was the third-lowest total of his career and the lowest total ever in a game that the Bengals actually won. Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and a big reason for that is because he rarely plays two bad games in a row. 

Over the course of his career, there have only been 14 games where Burrow has been held under 200 yards passing. Out of that total, there were 12 where he played a game the following week. He's gone off nearly every time. 

Let's take a look at the numbers: 

Games under 200 yards passing	Passing total	Next game passing total
Sept. 13, 2020 (vs. Chargers)	193 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT	316 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT (at Browns)
Oct. 11, 2020 (at Ravens)	183 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT	313 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT (at Colts)
Sept. 26, 2021 (at Steelers)	172 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT	348 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT (vs. Jaguars)
Nov. 21, 2021 (at Raiders)	148 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT	190 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (vs. Steelers)
Nov. 28, 2021 (vs. Steelers)	190 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT	300 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT (vs. Chargers)
Dec. 19, 2021 (at Broncos)	157 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT	525 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT (vs. Ravens)
Sept. 18, 2022 (at Cowboys)	199 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT	275 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT (at Jets)
Sept. 10, 2023 (at Browns)	82 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT	222 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT (vs. Ravens)
Oct. 1, 2023 (at Titans)	165 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT	317 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT (vs. Cardinals)
Oct. 15, 2023 (vs. Seahawks)	185 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT	283 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT (at 49ers)
Sept. 8, 2024 (L vs. Patriots)	164 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT	258 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT (at Chiefs)
Oct. 20, 2024 (L vs. Browns)	181 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT	234 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (vs. Eagles)

If you don't feel like adding all of that up, I'll go ahead and do it for you. Burrow has thrown for 3,581 yards along with 25 touchdown passes compared to just seven interceptions in those 12 games.

That means Burrow is averaging 298.4 yards and 2.1 touchdown passes the week after he's held under 200 yards. His 525-yard game against the Ravens in 2021 came a week after he threw for just 157 yards. 

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The numbers paint a picture of a quarterback who always seems to be out for blood after he struggles, but that's not how Burrow sees it. During a press conference Wednesday, the Bengals' star said his routine pretty much stays the same after a game where the offense struggles, like it did against the Browns.  

"Same as any other week," Burrow said of what his routine will look like this week. "You're just trying to get better day in, day out. Yeah. Obviously the second half wasn't what we wanted last week, but still things to build on. Still obviously room to improve and it's like every week you learn from both the good and the bad and move on."

Although Burrow's mentality doesn't necessarily change after a bad game, he did admit he's always watching film closely to see what he can do better. As he gets ready to head into Cincinnati's Week 2 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, don't be surprised if you see Burrow make more plays out of the pocket. 

"I think I'm going to be a little more aggressive to maybe get out of the pocket and make some plays," Burrow said. "Every game, you want to get out and see how things are going: How is the defense playing you? How is their front playing? What coverages are we getting? How are we attacking them so far and how's it going? Do we need to change? Do we need to keep attacking them the way they are? I'm going to be ready to adapt to whatever we see."

Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher admitted Wednesday that there were parts of the Cleveland game that left a "bad taste" in Cincinnati's mouth, and it sounds like he has high hopes for this week. 

"I know that we're all very motivated to give our best effort and show our best football this Sunday," Pitcher said. 

After a bad day against the Browns, Pitcher was asked what a perfect day would look like against the Jaguars. 

"A perfect day, we score every possession," Pitcher said. "What I hope happens is we are efficient on early downs, we convert manageable third downs, we have some sustained drives, we're able to convert on explosive plays when the opportunities present [themselves], and when we get in the red zone, we score touchdowns. If we do all that, you're going to score a lot of points."

Based on Burrow's track record, there's a very real chance that Pitcher's perfect day could happen. 

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Jordan Dajani

Not only has Burrow put up huge numbers the week after playing a bad game, but this week, he gets to play a Jaguars team that surrendered the MOST passing yards in the NFL last season. Although the Jags' defense looked much better in a 26-10 Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers, it's hard to say if that was because the Panthers were so bad or the Jaguars were so good (or a combination of both). Going from playing the Panthers offense to the Bengals offense is like going from Rookie mode to All-Madden mode in Madden. 

The Jaguars will try to slow down the Bengals' offense by giving Travis Hunter more defensive snaps. That makes sense, but asking a rookie corner to cover Ja'Marr Chase or Tee Higgins is a decision that certainly could backfire. 

No matter how you spin it, this is a big week for the Bengals: Not only is it their home opener, but they're looking to improve to 2-0 for the first time under Zac Taylor, who's been the head coach since 2019. If the offense bounces back against the Jags, the Week 1 struggles will be a distant memory for a team that has Super Bowl aspirations.