The Cincinnati Bengals are too familiar with allowing sacks of their star QB in games.
Joe Burrow was the most-sacked QB of 2021, suffering 51 of them for the season.
However, being a repeat champion in that stat line isn’t something good.
Before Thursday night’s game against the Miami Dolphins, Burrow was tied for the most-sacked QB of 2022.
But there’s another interesting stat line when viewing how many times teams sack the young QB.
Burrow Wins Games When Sacks Are Low Against Him
While Burrow is one of the most-sacked QBs in the NFL, he can win games when his line protects him.
Joe Burrow hasn't been sacked tonight after being sacked the most in the NFL after week 3.
Bengals OL has protected better (27% QB Pressure Rate) and Burrow has gotten the ball out fast (2.31 TTT)
— Prime Video Sports Analytics & Insights (@PVSportsStats) September 30, 2022
For his NFL career, teams have sacked Burrow 99 times.
His record since becoming a starter in the NFL is 14-15-1.
While that total is average, his play – when protected – is above average.
After Thursday night’s game, Burrow is 6-1 when defenses get one or fewer sacks on him.
However, his record continues to be solid even when he gets sacked up to two times in a game.
With two or fewer sacks against him, he’s 9-2 as the starting QB for the Bengals.
But when the sacks hit three or more, he’s 5-13-1 in his career.
While the statistics are interesting, they don’t include the playoff and Super Bowl games from last season.
However, can the Bengals’ offensive line continue to protect Burrow as they did Thursday night?
Bengals Haven’t Fixed Their Real Problem
With Burrow needing protection, the Bengals spent some money to improve their offensive line.
However, the sack numbers on their young QB are embarrassing to see.
Defenses are averaging four sacks a game against the AFC champion QB this season.
However, it’s how pressure affects the young QB when holding onto the ball that is a point of interest.
While he’s showing improvement over his last two games, the first two of the season saw QB pressures turning into sacks.
Joe Burrow's percentage of pressures that become sacks
Week 1: 26.9%
Week 2: 33.3%
Week 3: 14.2%
Week 4: 8.3%— Kevin Cole (@KevinColePFF) September 30, 2022
With the Dolphins not bringing pressure as often as they did in their game against the Buffalo Bills, it means Burrow benefited.
If other opponents see how pressure affects the young QB, his sack numbers will continue to be an issue.
So, how can Burrow change how he handles pressure in games?
Burrow Is Willing To Take Sacks To Extend Plays
When commenting about the sacks in his career, Burrow spoke about good sacks and bad sacks.
"Here's the thing about sacks, there's good sacks and there's bad sacks…" – Joe Burrow https://t.co/xkOewmtjSG via @YouTube
— Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) May 18, 2022
He thinks the number of sacks on him is an overblown stat.
However, the problem is him holding onto the ball too much, which leads to those sacks.
While he believes the sacks are meaningless on third downs, it actually affects the game more than he thinks.
Those sacks, even when out of field goal range, impact field position.
With some games coming down to position, it’s important for Burrow to take these issues seriously.
However, another reason for him to stop holding onto the ball and start taking fewer sacks comes from a health perspective.
If he wants a long NFL career, he’d be wise to stop holding onto the ball to extend plays.
NEXT: Eli Apple Was Able To Overcome The Trash Talk Thursday Night
