CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Joe Burrow joined a club that had gone 75 years without a new member Sunday, becoming just the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 450 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for a score in the same game.
Burrow’s six-touchdown performance — five through the air and the overtime winner on a 9-yard scramble — powered the Cincinnati Bengals to a 43-36 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Paycor Stadium. The last quarterback to reach those passing and rushing benchmarks in one game was Norm Van Brocklin in 1951, when he threw for an NFL-record 554 yards, according to ESPN Insights.
Per Doug Clawson, researcher and writer at CBS Sports, Burrow is the first QB in NFL history with a 70% completion percentage and 4+ passing touchdowns in three straight games.
Burrow completed 38 of 48 passes for 462 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. He added 10 rushing yards on three carries, including the game-winning score. The five touchdown passes tied his career high, and Sunday was his first NFL game with six total touchdowns.
“Joe did a good job escaping and extending some big plays there,” said head coach Zac Taylor.
The historic numbers came in a game Cincinnati had to rescue late. Tennessee led 13-0 after the first quarter and went ahead 36-29 with less than four minutes remaining. Burrow connected with Tee Higgins for an 18-yard touchdown with 1:17 left, and Evan McPherson’s extra point sent the game to overtime.
“He stepped up in those big moments for us,” Taylor said. “I know he’s going to be very frustrated with those picks, but at the same time, safety made some good plays too.”
On Cincinnati’s first possession in overtime, Burrow led the Bengals 70 yards in five plays. He completed passes to Ja’Marr Chase and Higgins before scrambling into the end zone from 9 yards out.
“I just felt the left side kind of open up and I started moving that way and just saw space and went and took it,” Burrow said. “I had Tee there too, could have thrown it, but just decided to run it.”
“Games on the line, you saw who we turned to. That’s no secret there,” Taylor said.
Burrow’s third-quarter touchdown pass to Higgins added another piece of NFL history. It was the 175th scoring pass of Burrow’s career, a mark he reached in his 84th regular-season game. He became the third-fastest quarterback to reach 175 touchdown passes, behind Patrick Mahomes, who did it in 72 games, and Dan Marino, who needed 76.
Burrow also moved up Cincinnati’s career passing list. His 462 yards brought his Bengals total to 22,925, moving him past Carson Palmer, who had 22,694. Burrow now ranks fourth in franchise history, behind Ken Anderson, Andy Dalton and Boomer Esiason.