Is Joe Burrow Destined To Walk Dan Marino’s Path?
Credit: Sam Greene - Imagn Images
Here is a question that, at the end of the 2021 season, might have seemed absurd to just about everyone within the 513-area code.
A question that, after reaching the AFC Championship in 2022, might have got you banned from the city limits of Cincinnati.
But with a room full of unhappy targets and a tough 0-2 start — a record that happened in spite of a finally-healthy Joe Burrow and an upgraded offensive line — it might be time to ask it.
Is Joe Burrow destined to be his generation’s Dan Marino, a generational quarterback who never won the Super Bowl?
The answer is trending in the wrong direction – even if that could change with a little more help, health, and a bit of luck.
For those under the age of 40, the name “Dan Marino” might not mean much to you, outside of seeing his jersey for sale at your local Lids Locker Room. For those who were alive when he was routinely terrifying defensive coordinators from 1983 to 1999, you know “Dan the Man” earned his nickname in spades. A nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback, Marino set single-season records in his second season in 1984, not only passing for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns, but registering nine 300-yard and four 400-yard passing games.
Take a moment and look at the list of the most single-season passing yards of all time. After all that’s happened since then, the rules changes designed to open the passing game, the subsequent explosion of quarterbacks, and the 17th game, and Marino still sits at No. 12 on the list. Marino’s ’84 season is the only one with a year that starts with a “1.”
That campaign was good enough to win the NFL MVP award and to lead his Miami Dolphins squad to Super Bowl XIX… where they would ultimately be defeated by the San Francisco 49ers. While Joe Montana would go on to win two more Championships for the Niners, Marino would never reach the promised land again.
You know who else reached the Super Bowl in his second season? Burrow. That, however, is not where the similarities end.
Marino spent all 17 years of his NFL career with the Phins, going 147-93 as the team’s starting quarterback. In a 2022 interview, Marino told USA Today’s “Sports Seriously” the following: “I played 17 years for the Dolphins and they were kind of going in a new direction with a new coach, and I had offers to go play other places. [I] really thought about it, and maybe had a chance to win a championship like Matthew [Stafford] has done.”
With Tee Higgins currently nursing an injury and seemingly gone in 2025, Burrow is set to lose a top target soon. Based on what’s happened during the first two games of 2024 and other media reports, Burrow’s other top weapon – Ja’Marr Chase – looks frustrated, to say the least. Meanwhile, former Bengals running back Joe Mixon seems to have been rejuvenated in Houston while the Bengals’ rushing attack — led by free agent signee Zack Moss and second-year back Chase Brown — has yet to find its footing.
Other teams, like the Chiefs, the Tom Brady-era Patriots, or the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, always seem to find the next big thing up their sleeve, no matter who leaves the organization. The Bengals don’t have the pedigree of consistency right now. So what happens now that Mixon is gone, and soon Higgins, and — god forbid — if Chase pulls a Stefon Diggs? Can Cincinnati build the type of player development machine the Chiefs did, or can a Bengal not change its stripes?
Even if Cincinnati can replace these players, it takes more than a player development pipeline to win a Super Bowl. Ask Marino’s Dolphins. They were the model franchise of the ’70s. Heck, they went to a Super Bowl in 1982, the year before they drafted Marino. But still, they couldn’t get Marino, say, a 1,000-yard running back until 1996 (Marino’s age-33 season), and that was back when the ground game was central to the NFL.
And unlike Cincinnati with Burrow, Miami didn’t have to constantly worry about Marino’s health. Between 1984 and 1992, “Dan the Man” missed just four games. Through four seasons and two games, Burrow has also dealt with major injuries, tearing his left ACL and MCL and, of course, the is–it-or-isn’t-it-healed? injury to his throwing hand. Last time we checked, knees and hands are kind of essential to playing quarterback.
At just 27, in an age where guys are playing quarterback into their 40s, Burrow has plenty of time to change his destiny. But he needs more help. Watching him play, you feel confident more he’s going to make the right reads, zip passes into tight spots, and — as he showed this past Sunday — be a leader who can both stick up for and admonish his guys when necessary.
Still, one can’t but help to begin to see the early parallels. Whereas Marino had questionable rushing attacks and defenses during much of his career, Burrow is still dealing with questions about his offensive line, tight ends, and the secondary on defense. His health makes Bengals fan wince with every hit he takes, but that happens with the supporters of any team whose franchise quarterback is getting sacked.
But lastly, don’t forget the luck factor – and I don’t mean Andrew, either. You can have all the talent in the world, but even that isn’t enough to get you to a Super Bowl. Rex Grossman and Jake Delhomme started for Super Bowl teams, while Phillip Rivers never did. Makes you think.
Suggesting Cincinnati is “wasting” Burrow’s talent is an unfair and inaccurate criticism. But saying they should maybe took a look at what prevented Marino from returning to a Super Bowl, and figuring out how to avoid that fate? Sorry, but that’s completely justified. Burrow and the Bengals seem committed to each other, and that’s the first step. No one wants to see a Stafford situation, where Burrow lifts the Lombardi Trophy somewhere else. But to avoid the Marino/Stafford paths, something has to change to prevent Cincinnati’s window from closing soon.
Otherwise, we may end up remembering Burrow for nailing a funny cameo in a movie more than we remember his brilliant career.
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