When Tom Brady retired after the 2022 season, it was a good bump for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Because while Brady is the best in-pocket mover in pro football history (I will brook no argument), Burrow had become a close second, and he is absolutely now the best in the NFL at moving around the small boxing ring known as the pocket without leaving it, and making dynamic throws. Burrow had a rough start to the 2023 season as he recovered from a calf strain, but against the San Francisco 49ers in a 31-17 Week 8 win, Burrow made a play in which no defense would have been able to contain him… because San Francisco’s defense certainly tried.
With 11:29 left in the first quarter of the game, Cincinnati had third-and-10 at its own 31-yard line, The 49ers had an overload look to the defensive right side in a concept they frequently use — three defensive lineman to the overload side, and linebacker Fred Warner as a standup three-tech to the other side. This time, instead of rushing, Warner dropped into the hook/curl area, as edge-rusher Nick Bosa crossed over tackle Javon Hargrave, and tackle Arik Armstead crossed the face of center Ted Karras.
As edge-rusher Randy Gregory collapsed the pocket to the other side, Burrow was in trouble all over the place. Most quarterbacks would have either taken a sack, thrown an errant duck, or moves outside the pocket.
But most quarterbacks aren’t Joe Burrow in the pocket. Somehow, Burrow escaped all that anarchy and fired an accurate pass to Tee Higgins for a first down.
Our buddy Joe Goodberry, a longtime Bengals expert, broke down what happened quite brilliantly:
There was a whole bunch going on here pic.twitter.com/AXObdM8GMJ
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) October 31, 2023
From the overhead angle, you can see how the original routes broke down, and how Higgins used scramble rules to get free from cornerback Charvarius Ward. This play lasted so long that Warner, who dropped eight yards into coverage, nearly sacked Burrow just outside the pocket.
“I don’t use that word unbelievable anymore really, to be honest with you,” head coach Zac Taylor said after the game,. when asked about Burrow’s top-notch escapability. “But that first one, I mean, I’m joking because that’s just kind of what you come to expect and it’s just a great job. I’m sure he’s feeling pretty good. I’m sure he is going to be pretty sore, but just a good job with him never quitting on a play, keeping it alive. Again, I’ve learned just to keep my mouth shut, not say anything, and not think anything negative while he’s back there in the pocket moving around. You’ve just learned a lesson year four here. But again, that was a big play and he did a good job with his feet. He did a good job. There’s two men running through. That’s the best play you can get.”
“Yeah, it’s tough to break those down,” Burrow said. “They just kind of happen. Really, that was athleticism, acceleration, explosiveness, and those were really a big focus of mine in the offseason. I just haven’t really been able to show that too much, so it was nice to have that hard work pay off.”
It was nice for the Bengals in their quest to beat one of the NFL’s defenses, that’s for sure.