Joe Burrow is the NFL’s most efficient QB on 1st down

One thing is clear: The more freedom Joe Burrow is given, the better the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense operates. That was made entirely evident in the second half of Cincinnati’s comeback win against the Jacksonville Jaguars last Thursday.

So perhaps Zac Taylor should allow his star quarterback to throw more on early downs?

Statistically, Burrow is one of the most aggressive quarterbacks in the entire NFL on first down in non-garbage time situations, and his efficiency is unmatched. He is averaging 11.2 yards per attempt, completing over 15% more of his passes over expectation, and is averaging a league-high .539 Expected Points Added per play.

In other words, throwing on first down makes a whole lot of sense when you have Burrow behind center. In fact, throwing more in general makes sense. Through four weeks, the Bengals are passing the ball less than 50% on first down when their win probability is less than 90%. That rate is 10% less than the expected pass frequency per RBSDM.com.

Hopefully, the coaching staff will continue to give Burrow opportunities to find a rhythm and build momentum for the offense with the expected goal of producing points, or, put simply: Let Burrow cook.

We talked about Burrow’s Aaron Rodgers-like ability to carry an offense with a former member of the Green Bay Packers, Mike Wahle. You can watch our preview of Cincinnati’s game against Green Bay below:

You can also listen on iTunes or using the player below: