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 threw a touchdown to Tee Higgins in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns as he was falling to the ground. He tripped over center Ted Karras as the pocket collapsed on first-and-goal and appeared destined to go down to force second down.
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 officials reviewed the play. But it didn’t matter. He tripped over a teammate and wasn’t touched by a defender on his way to the ground and wouldn’t have been ruled down either way.
In #CLEvsCIN, it doesn’t matter if Joe Burrow’s knee is on the ground or not. The contact that caused him to lose his balance was by his teammate, not by a defender.
Good ruling of touchdown here. pic.twitter.com/KcbbpqQOoV
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) December 22, 2024
Officials upheld the touchdown for the early Bengals lead.
Burrow’s in the midst of a would-be MVP-caliber campaign if the Bengals were competitive. He entered Sunday having completed 68.5% for 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 to Andrei Iosivas extended Cincinnati’s advantage to 14-0 and gave Burrow the league’s passing touchdown lead as his own. The Bengals went on to win 24-6.
Thanks to a porous defense, the Bengals are 7-8 and a long shot to make the playoffs. But Burrow continues to make plays in one of the best seasons of his career.
