The contrast with the recent past is sharp. From 2023 through 2025, injuries to Burrow, an offensive line that was problematic at best and one of the NFL's worst defenses left Cincinnati with a combined regular-season record of 24-27 and no playoff appearances. The latest showing came against Atlanta. Entering Sunday the Falcons ranked fifth in pass-defense DVOA. Burrow completed 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions and a passer rating of 140.1.
He is the second quarterback in pro football history with at least 16 passing touchdowns and at least two rushing touchdowns in any four-game span. The other is Brady in 2007, when the New England Patriots' offense scored 36.8 points a game and Brady was at his best.
Those Bengals walked the desert for a while. The four-game winning run is the first clear sign they have found a way out, and it has come almost entirely through the quarterback.
That is the kind of tear rarely seen from any quarterback. When healthy, Burrow is as good as any passer in the league, and he has moved into the near-unstoppable range.
The only reported interruption to his brightness came when the lights at the Bernabeu briefly went out in the fourth quarter.
The defense is only average. With an offense playing at this level, that has been enough.
The surge matters because Cincinnati cannot hide behind a balanced attack. The run game is among the league's worst, at 3.87 yards a carry and minus-0.13 expected points added per run. As much as any player in the NFL, Burrow will have to take this team as far as it can go.
Protection has improved with the results. Burrow has been pressured on 30.2 percent of his dropbacks this season, down from 33.8 percent in 2025 and 34.2 percent in 2024.
Over the last four weeks he has thrown 16 touchdown passes, the most in any four-game span in Bengals history, a record that dates to 1968.