Former Bengal Debunks the 'Joe Burrow Isn't Clutch' Narrative With One Stat

This narrative that Joe Burrow is not a clutch quarterback can officially end. Many tried to label Burrow as incapable of winning with the game on the line, citing a 1-34 record with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter as the main point. However, former quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick did a deep dive to add context and officially disprove this theory.

Fitzpatrick revealed on the Fitz & Whit podcast that Burrow has either tied or taken the lead in the final four minutes in 18 of 27 games.

"I needed to do a deep dive, I needed to put an end to this nonsense," Fitzpatrick said of the narrative against Burrow. "There are 27 times when Joe had the ball with under four minutes, but had the ability to tie the game or take the lead, he did it 18 of the 27 times."

Burrow Can Be Clutch

Sep 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws against Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson (41) during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Fitzpatrick delved deeper into the 18 games Burrow won or tied the game at the end. He explained that five times the team had a blocked PAT, missed the game-winning field goal, or failed to convert a two-point conversion. Fitzpatrick then detailed five other instances in those 18 games when the opponent scored with less than 30 seconds remaining or in overtime.

"Let me tell you what happened in those 18 games, five times they either had a PAT block, they missed the field goal they were put in position to take, or they didn't convert on the two-point conversion, there are also five times that they lost because the opponent scored with less than 30 seconds remaining or they scored in overtime," Fitzpatrick said of his findings.

The final eight games Fitzpatrick highlighted were wins. In seven of those eight wins, Burrow had the ball at the end of a tie game and scored to win. He added that while Burrow won only one game while trailing at the end, he still did his job two-thirds of the time in those 27 instances.

"That leaves eight of those, and those were eight wins, and so seven of those eight wins they were tied when he got the ball and went down there and won," Fitzpatrick said. "So there has only been one instance where they were behind and he scored and they won the game outright, so that's where the 1-34 comes from, but in the 27 instances I looked at, he did his job two-thirds of the time, pretty good rate if you ask me so I wanna just kill the narrative right now."

This should end any argument that anyone makes about whether Burrow can do his part when the pressure is on his shoulders.

Burrow is 1-34 when trailing late? That doesn’t tell the story. Fitz dove deep on the facts:

“There are 27 times were Joe had the ball with under 4 minutes, but had the ability to tie the game or take the lead. He did it 18 of the 27 times… Pretty good rate if you ask me.” pic.twitter.com/qj6aqhsxQC
— Fitz & Whit (@fitzandwhit) September 30, 2026

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