Scout's view: What should we expect from Bengals QB Joe Burrow?

Daniel Kelly spent four years in pro scouting with the New York Jets. He is the published author of the book "Whatever It Takes," the story of a fan making it into the NFL. 

Every superstar can have a bad game, but two in a row? 

After back-to-back trips to the AFC Championship Game and a Super Bowl appearance, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow finds himself in unfamiliar territory as the league's 30th-ranked QB. The fourth-year player's stats (41-of-72 for 304 yards, two TD passes) are "Ordinary Joe" stuff, not the "Extraordinary Joe" results we expect.

Before the season, CBS Sports pegged Burrow as the second-best QB in the NFL, behind Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes. Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, put him third, behind behind Mahomes and Buffalo's Josh Allen. 

I studied film of Burrow from Cincinnati's 24-3 loss in Week 1 to the Browns and from the Bengals 27-24 loss in Week 2 to the Ravens. After the first six plays against the Browns, it was clear something was off with Burrow, who still is recovering from a nagging right calf injury suffered early in camp that caused him to miss all the preseason. The first six plays against Cleveland were as follows:

1. Pass short left overthrown (incomplete)

2. Short lateral screen pass right (complete)

3. Pass out left for 12 yards (complete)

4. Intermediate route left that ended up caught by a Browns player out of bounds. 

5. Handoff running play 

6. Sacked 

The rest of the game wasn't much better for Burrow, who finished 14-for-31 for a career-low 82 yards before head coach Zac Taylor replaced him with Jake Browning late in the game. Against Baltimore, Burrow played better but not great. 

Here's what I spotted on game film from Burrow: 

1. Out of sync 

He seems preoccupied. This especially jumped out against Cleveland, and while less obvious against the Ravens, it still showed up in his body language. He didn't exude the high level of energy, aggression or urgency to the line of scrimmage pre-snap that I expect. This is completely out of character for Burrow, who's highly respected by his peers.  

In August, Mahomes told Yahoo Sports: "[Burrow] is like a stone-cold killer." Meanwhile, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones added, "He's so poised, You can talk stuff to Joe all day and he'll laugh it off. Give you a smirk. Then come in and dime you up." 

Clearly, Burrow is bothered by the injury and still has lots of rust to knock off after missing so much time before the season. 

2. Erratic ball placement 

Burrow's playing speed and release have looked slow at times and his passes uncharacteristically lack zip. A couple of throws fluttered awkwardly out of his hand against the Browns. In general, his ball placement — the ability to put passes where they must be for receivers to make catches and subsequently gain additional yardage — isn't up to par. He has made several bad overthrows and tossed a handful of others just out of reach. The TV broadcast analysts noted this, too.