Joe Burrow just needs an average Week 1 game to surpass a Hall of Famer and two former first-overall picks in the record books

The Cincinnati Bengals should win most of their games when quarterback Joe Burrow plays well, but No. 9 hasn't always been at his best when the season begins.

Only twice has Burrow thrown for over 200 passing yards in a season-opener. Only once has he had more passing touchdowns compared to interceptions. More importantly, only once has he emerged victorious.

As far as yardage goes, if he eclipses 200 yards Sunday afternoon against the Cleveland Browns, he'll at the very least find himself overtaking significant company in the record books.

Joe Burrow can pass Dan Marino and others for most passing yards in first 70 games

Week 1 will be Burrow's 70th career regular season game and start. If he throws for 201 passing yards, he will be third all-time for most yardage by a QB after 70 games, according to NFL Football Communications.

Burrow is currently at 19,001 yards for his career. The five names in front of him for yardage after 70 games are Andrew Luck (19,078), Hall of Famer Dan Marino (19,179), Jameis Winston (19,201), Matthew Stafford (19,953), and Patrick Mahomes (21,150).

Unless Burrow plans to shatter the single-game passing yards record against Cleveland, he's not going to touch either Stafford or Mahomes. Conversely, if he doesn't overtake Luck, it will be a horrendous day for the Bengals' offense.

201 yards for Burrow can be classified as a substandard outing for him as he sports a per-game average of 275.4, but the figure will leave Luck, Marino, and Winston in the dust. It may also be enough for Cincinnati to get past its in-state rival, but that's far from a guarantee.

Burrow has exceeded 200 yards in six of his eight career games against the Browns, but only two of those six games have been wins. He's 1-1 in games with sub-200 yards.

Clearly, passing yardage doesn't always correlate to wins. This is 2025, after all.

Burrow only cares about posting the W when the triple zeros hit in the fourth quarter, but we'll be monitoring his status in the record books regardless of the outcome.