Can Joe Burrow Overcome His Kryptonite?
Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Cincinnati Bengals made one of the best — and easiest — decisions in the NFL during the 2020 Draft when they took Joe Burrow at No. 1 overall. Burrow, who started his career at Ohio State, transferred to LSU in 2018 and showed off his potential that year. Then in 2019, he broke out and had arguably the greatest collegiate season of all time.
Burrow led the Tigers to an NCAA Championship and in the process, completed 76.3 percent of his attempts for 5,671 yards. Those numbers were unbelievable on their own but combined with an absurd 60-to-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio, it was truly a video-game stat line. Some doubters wanted to say he was a one-hit wonder or too cocky to make it in the NFL. But even without a great team around him in 2020, it was easy to see he was going to be just fine.
Cincinnati was just 2-7-1 with Burrow under center that season. Despite one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, Burrow threw for 2,688 yards and 13 touchdowns in 10 games against just five picks. He was hit low during his 10th start while playing the Washington Football Team, prematurely ending his rookie season. He suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee and had damage to his meniscus and PCL. As he enters his fifth season in the NFL, Burrow continues to prove he’s a great talent. The only thing that could prevent him from being the greatest player in franchise history is the durability issues that have been his Kryptonite.
Burrow fought back from his first major injury to play in 16 games each of the next two seasons. That included a sensational 2021 campaign where he led the NFL with a 70.4 completion percentage and posted 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns. The addition of former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase gave him a No. 1 target and the two nearly won another trophy together.
The Bengals got hot at the right time and knocked off the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, and Kansas City Chiefs to make it to Super Bowl LVI. They fell to the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 and in a twist of irony, Burrow was unable to get his final pass downfield to a wide-open Chase. The Bengals were criticized for taking a wideout over an offensive tackle such as Penei Sewell, and in the end, their line let them down as Burrow unsuccessfully tried to dump the ball off to Samaje Perine on fourth down.
Still, the following year was another success and Cincinnati nearly made it back to the Super Bowl yet again. This time, however, the Chiefs handed them a loss in the AFC Championship Game. NFL fans were robbed of another re-match between Burrow and Patrick Mahomes this past season, as that pesky Kryptonite popped up again to obstruct the Bengals’ star.
During training camp, Burrow suffered a strain in his right calf. Despite pleading from Ja’Marr Chase to wait until he was 100 percent healthy, the fourth-year signal caller took the field in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. He finished with 82 yards on 14-of-31 passing, clearly limited by the injury. He improved throughout the season as his calf improved, even putting up 300-plus yards in Weeks 9 and 10. Then in Week 11, another injury sidelined him. This time, it was a torn ligament in his wrist that required surgery.
Heading into year five, Burrow is in a familiar spot — looking to return from injury. He’s also trying to come to terms with the fact that he’s now had two season-ending injuries in four years. Burrow said his history has him thinking about how long he will be able to play the game.
“Whenever the injuries start to stack up, your football mortality kind of comes into the back of your mind,” Burrow told Eric Edholm of NFL.com. “So that’s definitely something I’ve thought about and something I have had to fight through.”
He added that he’s trying to be more proactive while also taking his time to get healthy. Burrow said in the past he would push hard to return but now, he understands September through February are far more important than mid-June.
Already sixth in franchise history with 14,083 yards passing and fifth with 97 touchdowns, Burrow is well on his way to becoming the Bengals’ greatest quarterback of all time. Here’s to hoping he and the team figure out how to keep him clean in the pocket so he can stay on the field and continue to climb the leaderboards. Because at this point, being off the field because of injuries will be the only way Burrow doesn’t go down as the best player this team has ever had.
Up Next