Bengals News: Joe Burrow Overtakes Peyton Manning and Tom Brady With an All-Time QB Record

The massive dollar figures associated with their contract signings have made Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins the media darlings of the Cincinnati Bengals’ offseason. Nevertheless, it’s the team’s boy-wonder quarterback in Joe Burrow who will ultimately decide the trajectory of the Bengals’ franchise. 

Ever since he first made the trip up north from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Burrow has been the pride and joy of Cincinnati. He’s already produced the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance since 1989 and has somehow managed to claim the AP Comeback Player of the Year award on two separate occasions despite having played in just five regular seasons. 

While some may argue that he’s not truly a ‘veteran’ quite yet, Burrow has already managed to establish himself as one of the most prominent passers in NFL history. The former LSU Tiger currently holds the all-time record for pass completion percentage with a career completion percentage of 68.6%, beating out the likes of Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, and even Peyton Manning. 

The former Indianapolis Colt managed to complete 65.3% of his passes throughout his 17-year career as a professional. Tied with the former Dallas Cowboy, Tony Romo, Manning’s completion percentage is currently the 17th best in NFL history. 

For as great as he was, the seven-time Super Bowl champion was only able to complete just 64.3% of his passes, which is currently the 27th best of any quarterback in NFL history. It is worth noting, however, that some of Burrow’s contemporaries aren’t far behind him. 

His premiere conference rival, Patrick Mahomes, currently boasts the eighth highest completion percentage in NFL history at 66.6%. Likewise, Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills currently finds himself trailing the likes of Brady, Steve Young, and Baker Mayfield with a career completion percentage of 63.3%, so it’s safe to say that the other signal callers are nipping at Burrow’s heels a bit when it comes to this particular record. 

Then again, none of the other aforementioned quarterbacks ever had the luxury of throwing to the same stud wide receiver for the majority of both their collegiate and professional careers. For as talented as Burrow is, there’s certainly something to be said for the fact that he’s been targeting Chase for the better part of the last seven years. 

For better or worse, however, the Bengals just signed his beloved WR1 to a deal that, at the time, made Chase the highest paid non-QB in NFL history. That title may have stayed with him for just a couple of weeks, but the end result is still the same. 

Both Burrow and the Bengals have a clear identity in the passing game for the next four years. It may have come at the expense of other key players, such as Trey Hendrickson, but in the end, the Bengals were able to provide Burrow the best possible chance of maintaining his historic completion percentage.