Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow played all 17 games this season after missing seven games in 2023 with a torn wrist ligament. He went on to lead the league in passing yards and touchdowns this season and nearly brought the Bengals to the playoffs after a 4-8 start.
Those efforts have landed Burrow the award for Comeback Player of the Year from the Pro Football Writers of America, as was announced Friday.
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Burrow finished just shy of 5,000 passing yards this season, throwing for 4,918 yards. That was almost 300 yards more than second-place Jared Goff, who threw for 4,629 yards. Burrow also led the league with 43 touchdown passes. Baker Mayfield (41) and Lamar Jackson (41) were the only other quarterbacks to throw at least 40 touchdown passes this season.
In a way, Burrow (almost) performed a comeback twice this season. One from his 2023 injury, one that was almost complete in going from 4-8 to 9-8 and just missing the playoffs.
From the PFWA press release:
Burrow started the first 10 games of 2023, before he suffered a torn ligament in his right wrist at Baltimore on Nov. 17 that ended his campaign after throwing for 2,309 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was back in the Bengals’ huddle for Week 1, and he completed 460 of 652 passes (70.6 percent) for 4,918 yards, 43 touchdowns, only nine interceptions and a 108.5 passer rating. He led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns, and he set or extended his franchise records in completions, attempts, completion percentage, passing yards, TDs and passer rating. Burrow posted eight straight games of 250 or more passing yards with at least three touchdown passes – the longest such streak in NFL history. He became the third quarterback in NFL history to have at least 4,500 passing yards, 40 passing TDs and fewer than 10 interceptions (nine), joining Tom Brady (2007) and Aaron Rodgers (2011). Burrow was the AFC Offensive Player of the Month back-to-back times in November and December/January, and he was the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 17.
Burrow is the Comeback Player of the Year for the second time in his career, also earning the honor in 2021. This is the third honor for the Cincinnati franchise, as quarterback Jon Kitna won the award in 2003 to go with Burrow’s two selections since the award was instituted in 1992.
