Joe Burrow Returns

Joe Burrow might not have the arm strength of Josh Allen. Or the speed of Lamar Jackson. Or the improvisational skills of Patrick Mahomes.

But there is no quarterback who plays from the pocket better than he does. And it sounds like he’ll be returning to the field on Thanksgiving against the Ravens.

There’s not much to evaluate about his performance this season since he played less than 2 games before getting injured. Last year, however, he played at an MVP level. So let’s take a look at his 2024 season to see what makes him so good and what the Bengals are getting back in their lineup.

Take advantage of our Black Friday Deal (in effect now through November 28th)
50% off a monthly, yearly, or Founding Member subscription:

Anticipation

I’ve expressed this sentiment many times before, but show me a quarterback making anticipation throws, and I’ll show you a quarterback who has numerous other critical skills needed to play the position.

To anticipate consistently, you need to be able to read the defense, process quickly, play with timing, see the field, know where defenders will be (not where they are), understand your playbook like the back of your hand, have good footwork, throw with accuracy and touch, and basically understand how to play the position like a pro.

Burrow is as good as any quarterback in the league in this department:

He consistently gets the ball out of his hands before his receivers are out of their breaks and before the defense has time to react:

Need a good playcall for 3rd-and-a-million? With a quarterback who can release the ball before the defense knows what hit them, you’ve got a shot:

Click here to view the entire Joe Burrow Film Session where I’ll show you more than 30 plays from his 2024 season. These film sessions are available with a Founding Member subscription, which also gets you access to our playbook that has more than 80 breakdowns grouped by concept (e.g. passing game, running game, situational, coverages, pressures, etc.) and hundreds of examples from NFL games.