Joe Burrow is changing the Bengals’ season and pulling away in the MVP race (Getty Images)
Joe Burrow completed 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns as Cincinnati beat Atlanta 34-17 in Madrid on Sunday. The Bengals are 6-2. Over the past four games, Burrow has thrown 16 touchdown passes, the most in any four-game span in franchise history, which goes back to 1968. Only one other quarterback, Tom Brady in 2007, has added two rushing scores to 16 or more passing scores in a four-game window. He finished fourth in 2022 and 2024. Sixteen touchdown passes in four games beats anything Cincinnati has seen since 1968. Add the two rushing scores and he lands next to Brady’s 2007 season, when New England averaged 36.8 points per game and Brady was at his best. Cincinnati lost Super Bowl LVI to the Rams by three points, then lost the 2022 AFC title game to Kansas City 23-20, again by three. From 2023 through 2025, injuries to Burrow, a shaky offensive line and one of the league’s worst defenses produced a 24-27 record and no playoff games. Cincinnati’s run game averages 3.87 yards per carry and minus-0.13 EPA per run, both among the worst in the league. Burrow finished fourth in 2022, when Patrick Mahomes won, and fourth again in 2024, when Josh Allen took it.
Because burrow is not slowing down, his rivals need a four-game run of their own, and soon,. Burrow has never won MVP.
History says he has waited long enough. This pace may end that. Burrow is only the second passer to hit both marks. It is a long way from where this team stood not long ago. The roster is not perfect. The offense runs through Burrow, and he has to take the team as far as it can go. The defense is no longer the problem it was. It is average. With this offense, average is enough, and that is a real change from a unit that dragged the team down year after year. This time he has the numbers, the record and the story. At this pace, the trophy is his to lose.