NFL 500-yard passing games: Joe Burrow joins ‘500 Club’ with huge stats in Bengals’ blowout vs. Ravens

Joe Burrow has been one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks this season. The Ravens’ secondary has been decimated by injuries. The result was not pretty for Baltimore.

Burrow torched the Ravens for 525 passing yards, leading Cincinnati to a pivotal 41-21 win against Baltimore, putting the Bengals a game up in the AFC North with two games left this season.

The 2020 first overall pick has enjoyed a major rebound season after having surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL 10 games into his rookie season. Coming into the matchup, Burrow has the highest PFF passing grade among qualifying quarterbacks. He entered the week ninth in passing yards (3,640), eighth in touchdown passes (29) and fourth in quarterback rating (100.7), though he was also tied for first in interceptions (14) and was second in sacks (44).

The Ravens came into the game with cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Christ Westry and Jimmy Smith out, bringing in Anthony Averett, Robert Jackson and Kevon Seymour as the starting corners.

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Burrow’s game was the biggest of his career, and it came at a pivotal point in the season with Cincinnati eyeing a playoff spot for the first time since 2015. Sporting News takes a look at Burrow’s game, and where it stands in history.

Joe Burrow stats vs. Ravens

The overall numbers on Burrow’s Week 16 performance were video game-esque.

He completed 37 of 46 passes for 525 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed twice for 11 yards.

At first, it looked like Burrow had secured 500 yards earlier in the fourth quarter, when he hit wide receiver Tyler Boyd for a 32-yard touchdown pass to bring his total up to 501. However, the ruling of a catch was overturned, and the Bengals wound up attempting a field goal.

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On the team’s final drive of the game, Burrow threw passes of four yards and 52 yards, the latter of which moving Cincinnati up to the Baltimore 6-yard line and bringing his total yardage up to 525.

The big pass to running back Joe Mixon broke the Bengals’ franchise record of 490 passing yards, set by Boomer Esiason on Oct. 7, 1990, in a 34-31 win against the Rams. It was also the most passing yards ever allowed by the Ravens, surpassing Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger’s record of 506 set on Dec. 10, 2017, according to Stathead.

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A big part of the Bengals’ success in the matchup was the variety of targets for Burrow. Both Tee Higgins and rookie Ja’Marr Chase had more than 100 receiving yards, with Tiggins tallying 194 on 12 receptions, including two touchdowns and Chase hauling in 125 yards on seven receptions. Boyd had 85 receiving yards on three catches, including a touchdown, and Mixon had 70 yards on six catches with a score.

The Bengals are one of only four teams with three receivers each with more than 600 receiving yards this season (Chase, Higgins and Boyd), along with the 49ers, Bills and Cowboys.

List of NFL 500-yard passing games

Burrow’s game was only the 24th in NFL history to tally more than 500 passing yards in the regular season, according to Stathead.

Rams’ QB Norm Van Brocklin had the most passing yards in a game at 554 in a Sept. 28, 1951 contest against the Yanks. Burrow’s 525-yard game is the fourth-most passing yards in a game, behind only Van Brocklin, Warren Moon (527) and Matt Schaub (527).

Roethlisberger has the most 500-plus-yard games with three, his most recent coming in that 2017 game against the Ravens.

Here’s a look at all the previous quarterbacks with at least 500 passing yards.