How Joe Burrow figured out how to avoid sacks and became the best pocket passer in the NFL

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow carried the team to the Super Bowl last season, but there were a few moments in the postseason where he cost the Bengals points. As he took 19 sacks in the playoffs, Burrow had plays where he flew too close to the sun.

The offensive line was a big culprit for the 19 sacks, but Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said that he “promised” the sacks weren’t all on the blockers. A handful of the sacks were on Burrow in moments where he scrambled around the pocket, missed a running back open for a check down or misread a defense.

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Burrow doesn’t make those mistakes anymore. Last week, when the Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18, Burrow was facing pressure from their pass rush all game, and he still only took two sacks.

After last season, the Bengals' coaching staff challenged Burrow to become a more consistent decision maker in the pocket. Then in 2022, Burrow became the best quarterback in the NFL in those situations.

Adapted to different situations

“There's a time and a place to extend plays and try to get out of some,” Burrow said. “Then others, you throw the ball away. And then there's others that you just eat it and take the sack. Every situation calls for something different.”

Last year in the second round of the playoffs against the Tennessee Titans, the Bengals were on the fringe of field goal range in a tie game with 12:12 left in the fourth quarter. Burrow dropped back on 3rd and 8 from the 32-yard line. The Bengals were in Evan McPherson’s range, but they wanted to take one last shot at the end zone. 

As Burrow dropped back, he had running back Joe Mixon wide open for a check down. Instead, Burrow backpedaled and scrambled to his right. Burrow was trying to make a highlight play happen, and he escaped one sack attempt by Titans defensive end Harold Landry. But then Titans edge rusher Bud Dupree caught up to Burrow and sacked him at the 50-yard line.

The Bengals had to punt, and they missed out on three points. Ten minutes later, on another play that started on the fringe of McPherson’s range, Burrow took another sack. In the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Burrow missed an open check-down option, took a sack in the red zone and forced the Bengals to settle for a field goal.

“Maybe in the past,” Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher said, “He made a decision a half-second later and had to avoid something in the pocket. He makes that decision a bit sooner now.”

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At the start of training camp, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan was asked where Burrow needed to improve. He said Burrow needed to cut down on the sacks he took. Too often, Callahan thought, Burrow could have had quicker decision-making, read the defense differently or approached a down-and-distance situation with different priorities. 

Changes resulted in fewer sacks

Burrow made adjustments in the offseason and leaned into them even more heavily after Week 2. Since then, Burrow has only taken an average of two sacks per game.

“I think it’s been just a balance,” Callahan said. “(He’s) understanding and growing and maturing through that process of when it is OK to be aggressive and when you should pull back the reins. At the end of the day, we always are going to defer to his instincts and his ability, and it’s usually going to work out pretty good.”

Over the last three months, Burrow’s instincts in the pocket have been as close to perfect as you’ll see in the NFL. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has fumbled the ball 13 times this season as he tried to escape pressure and make a play down the field. Allen and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes are both scramblers who sometimes abandon a play too quickly to try to make something happen with their legs. 

The Bengals have flustered Mahomes in each of their last two matchups against the Chiefs by taking advantage of Mahomes’ over-reliance on scrambling. The Bengals have been so successful rushing just three defenders against the Chiefs because they’ve forced Mahomes to run circles in the pocket and make an over-aggressive decision.

Burrow hasn’t made those types of mistakes this year.

“He plays really fast,” Taylor said. “He sees the game as well as anybody in the league right now but I think that’s even going to sharpen as he continues to grow. It’s hard to imagine how that would look because he plays at such a high level.”

This year, Burrow has done a better job avoiding sacks on early downs, and on third downs when the Bengals are on the fringe of field goal range. On 3rd and short from the red zone, Burrow gives himself a longer leash to be aggressive. In other situations, Burrow knows the best decision he can make is to throw the ball quickly. 

“(I’m) understanding the situations in the game,” Burrow said. “When you can and can't take certain chances depending on the score, the defense, how you move the ball, how you run the ball. It all plays into it. We pride ourselves on being a very good situational football team. And I think that's why we won a lot of games.”

Backs used to get rid of ball quickly

The Bengals coaching staff has also put Burrow in more positions to make quick decisions. Last year, Mixon and running back Samaje Perine combined only for 65 receptions. This year, as the coaches gave Burrow more chances to check the ball down, the running backs have combined for 98 catches.

There have also been big plays, particularly deep throws to Ja’Marr Chase, where Burrow recognized the coverage from a safety before the snap, identified a one-on-one matchup and found an opportunity to quickly make a long throw.

“With every game, Joe gets more and more feel and more understanding of how to play a game within the big picture,” Pitcher said. “He knows, ‘What’s the most important thing for me to do right now.’ He’s that much quicker taking a check down, or seeing something from the safety that lets him know he has the one-on-one to take a shot down the field.”

Burrow’s ability to move around the pocket while keeping his eyes down the field is the reason he ranks second in the NFL in completion percentage. Burrow has only fumbled the ball six times all season, and one of them was on one of the worst no-calls of the year. Last week, the Ravens needed to twist Burrow’s helmet and block the view of his face mask to make him miss a defender. 

According to Pitcher, one of Burrow’s “remarkable” traits is his ability to avoid fumbles by always keeping two hands on the football. While other quarterbacks risk a turnover when they try to make an aggressive play, Burrow’s sure-handed approach gives the coaching staff peace of mind.

“We see it every week across the league,” Pitcher said. “A quarterback tries to spin out of something, he goes to avoid a guy, the ball is hanging out here, doesn’t know someone is behind him, the ball is out. The way he is able to move in the pocket and be athletic and elusive without putting the ball in jeopardy is a big deal.”

Burrow’s ability to avoid sacks last week even had his coaches dropping their jaws. On one play, he made a jump cut in the pocket to avoid a diving defender and then made a no-look throw to Tyler Boyd. On another play, Burrow had his best escape of the year. He spun around one defender in the pocket, ran around a defender, juked past a defender, sprinted to the sideline and picked up 6 yards.

While some quarterbacks try to escape the pocket, Burrow manipulates the defenders in the pocket with cuts and side steps. 

“There are a couple plays (against the Ravens in Week 18) where you say, ‘Oh God, don’t do that …‘ Oh, great play, way to go,’” Callahan said. “He navigates it so well. You sort of let his instincts take over sometimes.”

Line injuries could affect pressure on Burrow

Burrow’s ability to escape pressure will be even more important in the playoffs. After Week 16, Bengals right tackle La’el Collins went on the injured reserve list with a knee injury. In Week 18, Bengals right guard Alex Cappa suffered an ankle injury that now has him moving around on a scooter.

The Bengals enter the playoffs with two new starters on the offensive line. Burrow will have to escape and avoid sacks to win in January. 

It makes all the difference that he turned that weakness into a strength. 

“Joe is a guy who has incredible instincts and amazing spatial awareness,” Pitcher said. "He doesn’t have to see it, he can feel it. You’d be hard-pressed to find somebody better than he is in the pocket.”