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Know your opponent: Cincinnati Bengals


Know your opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Cool and all his toys

On Sunday, Joe Burrow travels to our beautiful Queen City for the first time and faces the Panthers for only the second time. However, his debut in this game made a big splash in the stats. In this 2022 game in Cincinnati, Burrow went 22-28 for 206 yards and a touchdown and scored another touchdown on the ground.

This stat reminds us of what the former first-rounder can do to a defense. His arm allows him to put balls in the basket with a soft touch when needed, or throw a pass on a rope so precisely you can hear it whoosh. And while Burrow isn't a running QB per se, he never hesitates to use his legs to move in the pocket, even drifting out with bare boots, knowing he can wait until the last millisecond to throw.

The biggest threat Burrow poses, however, is his weapons. The Bengals have surrounded their passer with receivers like Ja'Marr Chase, their rugged deep threat, and Tee Higgins, the latter of whom missed the first two weeks and made his debut on Monday Night Football this week. In his place, Burrow relies heavily on second-year receiver Andrei Iosivas.

Through the first three games, Burrow has targeted the duo on 34 percent of his passes for 300 yards and five touchdowns. Burrow especially likes to find Chase in man coverage when he's isolated. In Week 3, Burrow had a 100 percent success rate when targeting Chase in man coverage.

The Bengals were looking for a running back to carry the load after Joe Mixon was traded to the Houston Texans in the offseason, and have now found two to provide a balanced attack. Zach Moss had the most touches and gained yards in the trenches, while Chase Brown provided a little more oomph, averaging 6.8 yards per carry.

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