CINCINNATI — Three games is not much of a sample size, but Joe Burrow has apparently decided that if he is going to repeat himself, he might as well repeat one of the best seasons of his career.
Through Cincinnati’s 2-1 start, Burrow has completed 73 of 103 passes for 743 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception. He is completing 70.9 percent of his passes and carries a 106.6 passer rating into Sunday’s home game against Jacksonville.
Those numbers look pretty good on their own, but they look even more interesting when compared with 2024.
Through the first three games of that season, Burrow had also completed exactly 73 of 103 passes. He had thrown for 746 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions, and posted a 107.5 passer rating.
Yes, really.
That 2024 season became the most productive passing year of Burrow’s NFL career. He finished with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns, leading the league in both categories while completing 70.6 percent of his passes.
Nobody should start multiplying three-game totals by 17 and planning another 5,000-yard season just yet, but the early similarities are hard to ignore, especially because Burrow appears to be getting better as the season moves along.
He opened against Tampa Bay by completing 25 of 35 passes for 254 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. A week later in Houston, he threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns without turning the ball over.
Then came Pittsburgh.
Despite Cincinnati’s 30-27 loss, Burrow played his best game of the young season, completing 28 of 37 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. He finished with a 123.9 passer rating and did not throw an interception against a Steelers defense that spent much of the afternoon trying to make him uncomfortable.
The ending was ugly, as Derrick Harmon’s late sack and forced fumble ended Cincinnati’s final possession, but the quarterback was hardly the reason the Bengals lost.
If anything, the performance looked a little more like the Burrow Cincinnati became accustomed to seeing during that 2024 season.
There are differences, of course. The Bengals do not need Burrow to recreate 2024 throw for throw, and three games tells us very little about what his numbers will look like by January.
But after playing only eight games last season, there were legitimate questions about what Cincinnati would get from its quarterback over a full year.
Burrow has already shown through three weeks that he does not need to carry Cincinnati by himself every Sunday. But if the opening month is any indication, the Bengals may once again have one of the league’s most productive quarterbacks running the offense — not to mention a legitimate MVP candidate.
And apparently, he has seen this movie before.
