When Joe Burrow is healthy, it’s hard to find anyone better.
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback has been unable to avoid the injury bug through his first six NFL seasons, but remains one of the NFL’s top-rated players at his position.
Optimism was at perhaps an all-time high going into last season when he was coming off his best statistical campaign in 2024 and returning all of his weapons on new or extended contracts. That excitement peaked after a healthy preseason but didn’t last. A slow start still ensued with a low-scoring win at Cleveland in the opener and then a nine-week pause in his season due to a Week 2 turf toe injury.
Even a surprise in-season trade for Joe Flacco didn’t yield the results the Bengals needed, despite him putting up big numbers, and an early return for Burrow wasn’t enough to tip the scales with turnover troubles and poor defense. Those issues were addressed this offseason, and now Cincinnati is ready to take advantage of its talent-loaded offense.
The potential for what that looks like in 2026 has fans buzzing with anticipation the Bengals can go as far as Burrow takes them. Let’s take a look at his 2025 season, where Burrow is expected to stack up among other quarterbacks in the league this year and what the rest of the quarterback room looks like with data from Pro Football Focus.
This is the first in a series of pieces breaking down each position group for the Bengals.
Quarterbacks on the rosterStarter: Joe Burrow
Backup: Joe Flacco
Others: Sean Clifford, Josh Johnson
Burrow by the numbers2025 stats: 1,809 yards passing, 17 TDs, 5 INTs, 66.8% pass completion rate, 100.7 passer rating, 17 sacks, 5-3 record
PFF grades for 2025: Burrow earned an overall offensive grade of 91.8 and ranked second among 43 quarterbacks that qualified based on minimum snaps. He also earned a passing grade of 91.3 (also ranked second-best) but he did not have enough running snaps to earn a rushing grade.
Where he ranks in 2026: Pro Football Focus ranks Burrow as the second-best quarterback going into 2026, behind Buffalo’s Josh Allen and ahead of Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson. PFF’s Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick rated Allen, Burrow, Jackson, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and the L.A. Rams’ Matthew Stafford as the five quarterbacks in an elite tier on their own.
Flacco by the numbers2025 stats (Browns/Bengals): 2,479 yards passing, 15 TDs, 10 INTs, 60.3% pass completion rate, 79.2 passer rating, 18 sacks, 2-8 record
PFF grades for 2025: Flacco had an overall offensive grade of 68.0, ranking 30th among 43 qualifying quarterbacks. He had a 66.8 passing grade (28th) and not enough running snaps to qualify for a rushing grade.
No projections for 2026FURTHER ANALYSIS
Between Burrow and Flacco, the Bengals feel confident in their quarterbacks for good reason. Ideally, Burrow stays on the field, but if something were to happen, Flacco won’t be coming in and learning the offense on the fly like he did in 2025 after Jake Browning failed to keep the team afloat.
When Flacco arrived in Week 6 via trade from Cleveland, the Bengals’ offensive line was still taking shape, as well, and that is not the case going into this season. Every starter on offense is returning, which leads to even more optimism, especially if Burrow can stay healthy.
Despite his extensive list of ailments over the years, PFF doesn’t knock Burrow for his injury history because “when Burrow is on the field, there’s still a compelling argument that nobody plays quarterback better.”
“A severe turf toe injury limited him to just eight games and 259 dropbacks in 2025, but his play never slipped,” PFF analysts Wasserman and Chadwick wrote. “Burrow earned a 91.3 PFF passing grade that ranked second among qualifying quarterbacks. He also posted the lowest turnover-worthy play rate by any quarterback with at least 250 dropbacks in the PFF era (2006-present) and finished above the 95th percentile in four of PFF’s six most stable passing metrics.”
Burrow was fourth in big-time throw rate (6.6%), third in perfectly accurate throws (21.5%) and third in accurate throw percentage (68.4).
Flacco played some of his best football with the Bengals, though his numbers don’t reflect it. He was hurt last year by a poor offense with Cleveland to start his season and struggles outside of his control in Cincinnati. He ranked fourth-best in turnover-worthy play percentage in clutch time, but yet the Bengals found ways to squander opportunities he gave them to win games. He and Burrow should give them plenty more of those in 2026.
