Joe Burrow, stalking his first NFL passing title with numbers that haven't been seen since Tom Brady's 16-0 regular season in 2007, hasn't missed in his last 11 quarters and 95 passes for a 77.0 completion percentage. That puts him leading the NFL at 74.0%, and he knows the record for one season.
"74.4," Burrow said after Wednesday's walkthrough on the Paycor Stadium turf.
And he knows who set it because it's his idol and the other half of Louisiana's championship No. 9s.
Drew Brees.
"For sure," Burrow said. "That would be a fun one to break."
But all he's looking to break at the moment is the 6-2 first-place tie with the Steelers in the AFC North in Sunday night's White Bengal Game (8:20 p.m. Cincinnati's Channel 5) at Paycor Stadium.
It's been a winning environment for him all but once. The only time he's lost a game at Paycor that's been under the lights or a stand-alone game came in a 2024 Monday night shootout with Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
That includes two Wild Card wins. He just came off a week in Madrid telling the world how much he likes these spotlight games, and here's another one.
"This is why I love playing in prime time. Some guys would rather play at one. I'd rather play every game, Sunday night, Monday night football," Burrow said. "I want to be able to showcase what we do and how hard we work, and go and showcase what we can do to the world. And this is a big moment for it."
Even bigger?
It's Burrow's first AFC North home game under the lights in his 86th start.
"It's a big game this week, but next week is a big game too and the week after that and the week after that," Burrow said. "So we're just focused on this one and trying to make this one a win and go from there."
Paycor Pandemonium
The Bengals' two quarterbacks are looking for a lot of noise Sunday night, and after what they heard in Madrid last Sunday in the 34-17 win over the Falcons, they're expecting chaos.
Burrow looked on in amazement as the Bengals-dominated crowd forced the Falcons to go to a silent count. Middle linebacker Barrett Carter has found himself using hand signals at times the last two weeks against the Titans here and against the Falcons
"You saw Atlanta going on the silent and I didn't pay attention to how long or if they did it the whole game, but for the first quarter they certainly were because I was paying attention to see how we were going to have to do it," Burrow said. "And so when we saw that, we were like, 'Okay, we're going to have to go silent.' And then we got out there and it wasn't the same and we were able to go verbal … That's credit to our fan base for sure. "
Carter, who gets defensive coordinator Al Golden's call in his helmet, loves it when he can't hear. He knows what havoc that is causing for the offense, and he resorts to hand signals.
"Our fans are the best in the world. Home, away, or even in Spain," Carter said. "I can barely hear the call myself. It's very hard, but it's a blessing. I love that challenge. I can't really hear anything. I block it all out.
"I step away from the huddle, I cover my ears, I just tune everything out to make sure I hear the call clearly. If the guys are struggling to hear, I'll signal in the play to get everybody on the same page. It's not an easy thing, but it's mandatory."
Burrow and Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers may be the two best quarterbacks when it comes to using the cadence to their advantage. The crowd gives Burrow the edge Sunday.
"It gets loud," Burrow said of Paycor. "It gets really loud, especially that last game against Tennessee is about as loud as I've heard it, and I've heard it pretty loud, and this weekend I think will be even more amped up and ready to go."
Golden Text
After Carter's ten-tackle day included an interception and forced fumble, Golden said he sent him a text Tuesday praising him for his level of play against the Falcons.
"I thought he tackled really well. I mean, that's a hell of a back we just played, and we got another one coming up. But I thought he tackled really, really well in space. I thought he played square," Golden said.
Carter, looking at that other back, the Steelers' Jaylen Warren, isn't popping any corks.
"I'm grateful he's seeing that growth in me, and I don't mean this with any disrespect," Carter said. "I don't read much into it. I try to stay steady. I try to stay grounded because I know there are greater things to come. I'm appreciative of my coach sees growth in me, but I know I have a long way to go and a lot more to show."
When the Steelers beat the Bengals back in September, 30-27, Warren killed them on some long runs from missed tackles. So did 300-pound tight end Darnell Washington. Carter and his defense are coming off their best tackling day of the season against Falcons running back Bijan Robinson.
"That should give confidence to everyone on defense, not just me. It's a unit," Carter said. "(Warren) is a really good back. You have to bring all 11 to the ball. He makes you miss, he creates a lot of chunk yardage after the pile. We have to make sure to swarm him. Same thing with (Washington). You can't hang a brother to dry out there. All 11 hats have to get to the ball."
Slants and Screens
It looks like this is Burrow's last chance to beat Rodgers in a game between a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback to be inducted in 2032, and some time in the 2040s, or five years after whenever Burrow decides to hang them up.
Rodgers is 2-0 and needed the last play each time. Once in a 2021 overtime for the Packers, and a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh with Burrow in range of a tying field goal before getting strip-sacked in the last minute.
If Burrow were playing like Rodgers is at two weeks shy of 43, he says he'd keep going.
"He's 40, whatever, one or two, and still doing that at a high level. I would have trouble calling it quits when I'm still playing like that at that age," Burrow said. "I've enjoyed watching him for a long time, and this year I think he's playing so well. He really played great in the last game we played. Dang near perfect. And made me feel like I had to be perfect the whole time, too. And he's done that for a long time." …
NBC's Mike Tomlin covers the Steelers Sunday for the first time since he left as head coach after 19 years last season. Burrow thinks that would be an interesting production meeting, but he's looking to pick his brain on past showdowns.
"Maybe more of an offseason, off-the-record discussion than a production meeting," Burrow said. "I've always loved how he sees the game and attacks coaching. He's always attacked it with an intensity that I had a lot of respect for. To be able to get to know him in a setting like that I think would be a little exciting for me." …
