Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel respects Joe Burrow's drip.
Asked Tuesday what he sees watching the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, McDaniel noted Burrow's swag before turning to on-field analysis.
"Well, coming off the bus, I see swag. And then on the field -- which yeah, I have a sound place in my heart for [swag]," McDaniel quipped, per the Dolphins' official transcript. "But yeah, you really, really like -- I don't know, I appreciate guys, that you know, you're the No. 1 pick in the draft. That is a burden for some. It was a blessing for him and I really respect guys that come out, take all that hype and do justice by it or exceed it. The guy has great vision and awareness. He's very mobile both within the pocket staying a passer and escaping to run. Great touch. Great accuracy. And he really not only makes plays for their offense, but he helps other players make plays because of his ball location.
"So he's one of the true young flag-bearers of our league that does a great job and it's a tremendous challenge for our defense to go out there and face him really."
McDaniel's Dolphins will need to bamboozle that flag-bearer Thursday night in Cincinnati to stay undefeated.
Burrow got back on track last week, finding more chunk gains against the New York Jets that we'd come to expect from the Bengals offense. Burrow completed a 56-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tyler Boyd in Week 3, the Bengals' ninth scrimmage TD of 50-plus yards since 2021 (most in NFL). It was Burrow's 13th completion of 50-plus yards since 2021 (most in the NFL).
Burrow needs 340 pass yards in Week 4 to pass Kurt Warner for the third-most passing yards through a player's first 30 career games since 1950, per NFL Research. He has earned five games with 340-plus pass yards since 2021 (only Tom Brady has more).
The Bengals have surrendered 15 sacks through three weeks, tied for most in the NFL. How the Dolphins pressure Burrow on Thursday night will be the key.
Miami is tied for 22nd in the NFL in sacks. While the Dolphins have blitzed at the fourth-highest rate in the NFL (39.1 percent), they've pressured the QB on just 32 percent on those plays, while allowing a 75.6 completion percentage and a league-worst five TDs on blitzes, per Next Gen Stats.
If the Dolphins continue to blitz on Thursday, Burrow will likely keep getting the ball out quickly. His 2.28 seconds to throw versus the blitz is the quickest in the NFL through three weeks. Miami has allowed a 115.1 passer rating on quick passes this season.
