Ken Anderson still sits alone at the top of the Bengals’ passing-yardage mountain.
Anderson’s 32,838 yards for Cincinnati keep him ahead of a list that stretches from the franchise’s early days to the Joe Burrow era. The longtime Bengals quarterback played from 1971 to 1986 and also helped lead the team to the “Freezer Bowl” 1981 AFC Championship game.
Right behind him is Andy Dalton, whose run from 2011 to 2019 produced 31,594 passing yards. Dalton was a three-time Pro Bowler and is now the backup quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Boomer Esiason takes third with 27,149 yards. He played for the Bengals from 1984 to 1992, won the 1988 AFC Central Division title, later became a football analyst, and was inducted into the Bengals Ring of Honor in 2023.
Carson Palmer lands at No. 4 with 22,694 passing yards. Palmer was with Cincinnati from 2003 to 2010 and led the NFL in passing touchdowns and completion percentage in 2005.
Joe Burrow is already fifth on the list with 21,064 career passing yards as of Sept. 13, 2026.
Since arriving in 2020, Burrow has become a three-time Pro Bowler and a two-time NFL Comeback Player of the Year. In 2024, he led the league in passing touchdowns and passing yards.
Jeff Blake checks in at No. 6 with 15,134 yards during his Bengals tenure from 1994 to 1999. He made the Pro Bowl in 1995.
Jon Kitna rounds out the top seven with 10,707 yards from 2001 to 2005. Kitna was the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2003 and later became head football coach for Lakota East High School in Greater Cincinnati.
In Other News...
Bengals Face Two Immediate Week 2 Questions Fans Can't Ignore
Joe Burrows back tightness has become the most immediate health storyline for Cincinnati as the Bengals turn the page to Week 2 against the Texans. Burrow is expected to play, which matters plenty for a team that needs its offense in rhythm early, but it also puts the spotlight on how he feels going into another division-sized test and how the Bengals manage the week around a quarterback who is never far from the center of the conversation.
There is also a quieter development worth watching on the defensive side, where rookie end Cashius Howell is just getting started after being a recent second-round pick. Teammate Shemar Stewart has already pointed him toward the grind ahead, which is the kind of advice that usually lands differently once the games start to pile up and the leagues physical demands become impossible to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Ownership Is Sending A Clear Message About This Franchise
For all the noise around roster building and contract strategy, the Bengals financial picture says plenty about how this franchise sees itself now. Forbes recently ranked the Brown family 224th on its list of the 400 richest people in America, putting their net worth at $7.6 billion, while Elizabeth Blackburn has helped push the teams brand forward and broaden the use of Paycor Stadium as part of a more modern, visible operation around the club.
The bigger shift is how much the organization has grown since introducing its Ring of Honor in 2021, with the franchises value rising by roughly $5.325 billion in that span. Joe Burrows arrival as the face of the team has clearly affected spending and strategy, and the message from ownership has been hard to miss: the Bengals are acting like a franchise that expects to stay in the conversation, not merely visit it. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Already Feel Better About One Big Free Agency Bet
The Bengals got exactly the kind of early return they hoped for when Boye Mafe arrived from Seattle in free agency. In Cincinnatis 33-27 win over the Buccaneers in the 2026 season opener, the defensive end made his presence felt all over the field, logging a sack, forcing a fumble and recovering one in a performance that quickly justified the organizations investment.
Mafes debut also came with the sort of pressure the Bengals were counting on him to handle, and he answered it with a disruptive night that showed why he was viewed as such an important addition to the defensive line. PFF was high on the outing too, adding another layer to a strong first impression, but the bigger question now is whether this was the start of a trend or just an opening flash. [Read more 🡒]