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Keeping Bengals' Joe Burrow comfortable key to his early success

CINCINNATI -- One key piece of Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow's preparation process stays the same the night before every game.

Burrow will meet with Bengals coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to go over the next day's game plan and playcalls. If they're on the road, the trio meets at the team hotel. At home, the process occurs inside an office at Paul Brown Stadium.

But no matter the location, the methodology and objective for the meeting remain consistent. When it's time for Taylor to give Burrow playcalls the next day, it's important they feel comfortable in the moments before the ball is snapped.

That comfort is evident four games into Burrow's rookie season. In Burrow's first win as a pro, a 33-25 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, he became the first rookie to throw for 300 or more yards in three straight games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Burrow attributed his early success to the level of comfort with Taylor that stems in part from those Saturday night meetings.

"I think Zac has really done a great job of asking what I'm comfortable with in calling those plays, and he understands what I like in certain situations," Burrow said Sunday.

The night before Burrow was 25-of-36 passing for 300 yards with one touchdown and one interception against the Jaguars, he met with Taylor and Callahan for some final prep work. The concept isn't revolutionary -- it's common at most levels of the game and is something Taylor said he has done over the past 10 years.

Taylor asks Burrow for his top three playcalls in each situation and ranks them in order. The second-year coach said sometimes there are plays that one will like more than the other.

But the whole point of the exercise is to find concepts and looks that will make Burrow comfortable. His conviction can trump a scenario that may not look great at the line of scrimmage.

"There are some critical situations where sometimes you need to know what the quarterback believes in and loves," Taylor said. "Even if it's not a great scheme against what [the defense] is doing, if the guy believes in it often times they make the play come to life. And that's important."

Taylor declined to get into any specifics, but he did mention that there were a couple of completions Burrow had that came on plays that were suggested on Saturday night. Taylor said he called those plays a littler earlier than he would have originally because of Burrow.

Burrow isn't intimidated by the collaboration with Taylor and Callahan and is more than willing to be vocal during the process.

"He has a very clear understanding of what we're trying to do offensively and a very clear understanding of how he fits in that puzzle," Callahan said. "He is not afraid to voice his opinion. And that's good. We want that."

All of the communication is paying off. Despite shouldering a heavy workload for the Bengals (1-2-1), Burrow is seventh in total passing yards and 12th in touchdown-to-interception ratio in his rookie year.

With 1,121 passing yards in four games, Burrow is on track to break Andrew Luck's record for the most by a rookie (4,374). That would be fitting considering the comparisons of the two No. 1 overall picks as they each entered their rookie season.

Burrow will try to continue his early success Sunday at the Baltimore Ravens (3-1), the reigning AFC North champions.

But before he steps on the field, he'll go over everything one more time on Saturday so he's as comfortable as possible when he faces the toughest test of his young career.

"When you give those guys chances to do the things they like to do and they feel comfortable with, usually the results are going to be pretty good," Callahan said.