Story by
Joe Burrow Delivers in Crunch Time Despite Three Interceptions
- Story by
- Joe Burrow Delivers in Crunch Time Despite Three Interceptions
(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
The Cincinnati Bengals moved to 5-2 with a 43-36 overtime win over the Tennessee Titans , but the result was in doubt far longer than it should have been.
Three Joe Burrow interceptions kept a 1-6 Titans team in the game and gave Tennessee chances to stay within reach. However, Burrow responded with an impressive finish.
Advertisement
The mistakes were costly. All three interceptions came against Titans safety Amani Hooker, who also added three pass breakups. The third was probably the most frustrating, as Burrow underthrew Ja'Marr Chase at the Tennessee 5-yard line on what should have been a go-ahead touchdown.
Those plays could have buried a lesser team, especially one that had already fallen behind 13-0 early and could not afford to give away scoring chances. Instead, Burrow dominated the fourth quarter and overtime.
He finished 17 of 19 for 246 yards and three touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground, over that stretch. He found Mike Gesicki from 25 yards out and Tee Higgins from 18 yards out, the latter of which tied the game at 36 with 1:17 remaining. Then, in overtime, he completed passes of 17 and 14 yards to Chase, 21 to Higgins and 9 to Samaje Perine before scrambling nine yards for the winning score.
I think the response says more about Burrow than the three picks. Quarterbacks who throw three interceptions often press, force throws and compound the damage. Burrow did the opposite. He played with poise, remained patient against a defense that had just taken the ball away three times, and kept making the right decisions with the game on the line.
Advertisement
That composure was especially notable because Tennessee's Jacob Martin sacked him three times and pressured him throughout the entire game. That kind of resiliency is difficult to teach, and it is a major reason the Bengals are 5-2.
The final line also does not tell the whole story. Cincinnati finished with 510 yards, Burrow completed 38 of 48 passes for 462 yards and five touchdowns for the game, and the Bengals needed every one of those plays to earn a hard-fought victory.
The performance also showed why Burrow remains the engine of this team. When the offense needed a drive in the fourth quarter or overtime, he delivered it every time, and that is what separates him from most quarterbacks.
Burrow's mistakes may have kept the door ajar for Tennessee, but his performance down the stretch slammed it shut. Games like this are exactly why Burrow belongs in the MVP conversation , and if he keeps finishing this way, his case will only get stronger.
