Joe Burrow entered Sunday with a career-high 36 touchdown passes in a standout campaign for the Cincinnati Bengals.
His 37th was one of his best of the season.
Burrow was throwing a touchdown to Tee Higgins in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns when he fell to the ground. He tripped center Ted Karras as the pocket collapsed on first-and-goal and seemed destined to go down to force second.
But he found Higgins and released the ball just in time. Higgins caught the ball in the end zone to give the Bengals a 7-0 lead.
Burrow’s knees hit the turf before he threw the ball, and the officials reviewed the play. But it didn’t matter. He tripped over a teammate and was not touched by a defender on his way to the ground and would not have been ruled out anyway.
In #CLEvsCINIt doesn’t matter whether Joe Burrow’s knee is on the ground or not. The contact that caused him to lose his balance was from his teammate and not from a defender.
Good pronunciation of the touchdown here. pic.twitter.com/KcbbpqQOoV
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) December 22, 2024
Officials confirmed the touchdown for the Bengals’ early lead.
Burrow is in the midst of an MVP-caliber campaign if the Bengals were competitive. He entered Sunday having completed 68.5% on his passes for an NFL-best 284.1 yards per game with 36 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
His 37th touchdown pass to Higgins tied him with Lamar Jackson for the NFL lead. His 38th in the second quarter against Andrei Iosivas extended Cincinnati’s lead to 14–0 and gave Burrow the league’s passing touchdown lead as his own.
Thanks to a porous defense, the Bengals entered Sunday at 6-8 and a long shot to make the playoffs. But Burrow continues to play in one of the best seasons of his career.
