Joe Burrow’s first NFL game outside the United States comes with a piece of history attached. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback has thrown at least four touchdown passes in three straight games. One more such outing against the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid would make him the third passer in league history to string together four.
Peyton Manning did it with the Indianapolis Colts in 2004. Dan Marino pulled it off for the Miami Dolphins in 1984, and both men were named MVP in those seasons. Burrow threw seven touchdown passes through the opening four games, then 13 across the next three.
He hit the Miami Dolphins for four, the Baltimore Ravens for four more, and the Tennessee Titans for five. His 20 touchdown passes lead the NFL, and the Bengals have climbed from 2-2 to 5-2 during the run. Atlanta, 3-5, was gashed for 324 rushing yards by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in its last outing, a single-game high for any defense this season, TruMedia data shows.
Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich praised Burrow’s athleticism and accuracy before landing on a blunt verdict. Getting home may be Atlanta’s best hope. Burrow completes 79.8% of his passes when nobody’s in his face, the league’s top mark per TruMedia, but just 55.4% under pressure.
Fifteen of his touchdown throws came from clean pockets, and four of his six picks happened under duress. The Falcons generate pressure 41.6% of the time, fourth best in the NFL. Spain is a first for Burrow, who has already toured the Museo del Prado.
Kickoff at Bernabéu Stadium is set for 9:30 a.m. ET on Nov. 8, with a crowd of 85,000 on hand to see if Burrow makes it four in a row.
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