Tennessee Titans linebacker Harold Landry III (58) sacks Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) as defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat (93) strips the ball away during their game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bengals QB Joe Burrow Leads NFL in Rough Pressure Statistic Over Past Four Seasons

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Jul 2, 2025 7:59 AM ET

Teams know it's death to blitz Joe Burrow, but are still causing him early headaches in the pocket all the same.

Warren Sharp noted on X this week that no quarterback's been blitzed less often than Burrow since 2021, but he also leads the league in most times hit in under 2.5 seconds. It's helped make him the second-leading quarterback by sacks taken since 2021 (164 sacks taken to Russell Wilson's 166).

It's amazing Burrow was still able to lead the league in 2024 passing yards and touchdowns operating in that environment. Cincinnati has struggled this entire decade to protect Burrow and a lot of that pressure came right up the middle via rough guard play last season.

New offensive line coach Scott Peters will try to find the best combination on the inside across a heated position battle in training camp. Check out the breakdown below:

most brutal stat you'll read today:

Joe Burrow has been blitzed at the #1 LOWEST rate of any QB the last 4 years

--but--

he has been hit within 2.5 seconds of snap at the #1 HIGHEST rate

Burrow has been hit within 2.5 seconds 25% MORE than the #2 most hit QB in the NFL pic.twitter.com/QOCOmIvRgg
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 1, 2025