Former LSU QB Joe Burrow Leads Second Half Charge in NFL Prime Time Win

Joe Burrow lined up behind his center late in the fourth quarter Thursday night and saw something he could take advantage of. The Jacksonville Jaguars were showing a zero blitz, leaving all of the Bengals receivers in one-on-one matchups.

On 2nd-and-14 and time winding down, the second year quarterback audibled at the line of scrimmage to a jailbreak screen, where he was able to connect with his tight end CJ Uzomah, who behind a trio of blockers was able to get into field goal range. It was a play that showed the elite level football IQ of Burrow and helped guide the Cincinnati Bengals to a 24-21 win over the Jaguars on prime time.

"They had showed some zero on film so I knew I'd have to be ready for it in a big spot," Burrow said. "I had CJ out there, that's not exactly the personnel we throw those jailbreak screens to but he really took advantage of the opportunity."

Burrow was sensational for most of the game but after the offense couldn't find a rhythm in the first half, he completely dominated the second half. The former Tigers' quarterback completed 17-of-20 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns over the final 30 minutes, leading scoring drives on all four drives in the second half.

He became just the second player over the last two seasons to complete 85% of his passes for 250 yards in the second half of a game, joining Tom Brady in that elite club. For the game, Burrow would toss for 348 yards and two touchdowns, leading that second half charge that really got cooking with some big plays down field to his LSU teammate Ja'Marr Chase.

Burrow and Chase have been in fine form to start the 2021 season and continued that success on Thursday night with a six catch performance for 77 yards, including this beautifully run play to open the third quarter.

Burrow came out firing in the second half.@Bengals cut the lead in half! @JoeyB #RuleTheJungle

📺: #JAXvsCIN on @NFLNetwork
📱: https://t.co/jQ6nvOCVqi pic.twitter.com/FES2nEXLyu
— NFL (@NFL) October 1, 2021

Chase was awarded the Rookie of the Month this week for his hot start to the season that includes four touchdowns over the first three weeks of the season. He'll likely be on a short list for Rookie of the Year if he keeps this level of production through the end of the year.