Why Joe Burrow doesn’t force throws over the middle

Joe Burrow is off to one of the best starts of his career. He's fourth in the NFL with 2,115 passing yards and first with 20 passing touchdowns, coming off a five-touchdown passing performance against the Tennessee Titans, in which he also rushed for a touchdown.

Burrow has three straight games with at least four touchdowns, and he has thrown for more than 280 yards in four of his last five games. He’s done it by playing his way, his brand of football. Burrow wants to throw the ball a lot, and Cincinnati’s offense lets him do that, with support from his head coach and offensive coordinator.

Additionally, Burrow has made consistently good decisions about where to throw the ball. An international reporter asked whether he, like many others, thinks it’s important for quarterbacks to attack the middle of the field and whether a quarterback can be elite without doing so.

Burrow sort of deflected, saying that when he’s at his best, he attacks the boundary. He even brought up the negatives of throwing over the middle and how inaccurate passes, especially balls thrown too high, can often end up as turnovers. Ultimately, though, he said it depends entirely on how defenses attack a particular quarterback.

If they focus on the boundary, the middle is open; if they pack the middle, the boundary is open. The margin for error when throwing to the middle is slim. Inaccurate passes commonly lead to turnovers or expose receivers to big hits. Burrow says defenses have noticed his tendency to attack the sidelines and try to force him to throw over the middle. His passing chart from Pro Football Focus provides a breakdown of where he’s throwing the ball.

Burrow is 55-for-74 when attacking the middle of the field 10 yards or less downfield. From 10 to 20 yards, he’s 23-for-29. At 20 or more yards, he’s 6-for-7. Burrow’s strength is his accuracy, so interceptions aren’t really a reason to worry about him attacking the middle of the field. Most of his picks have come from misreading defenses rather than poor throws.

Burrow is 25-for-35 when attacking the left boundary and 53-for-74 when throwing to the right side of the field, clearly showing a lean toward that side.

Burrow and the Bengals will have a chance to continue his MVP campaign Sunday morning against the Falcons in Madrid. Atlanta has a league-average defense.