Joe Burrow Is “The Good Son” Of Football
Credit: Cara Owsley via Imagn Images
Thursday was Halloween, a date that sparked a flurry of activity throughout Week 9 of the NFL. The New York Jets stopped their losing streak thanks in part to the Catch of the Year (to date) by Garrett Wilson. Offensive tackle Cam Robinson was swapped from a team (the Jacksonville Jaguars) that hoped to be a contender in 2024 but isn’t, to one that wasn’t thought to be but surprisingly is (the Minnesota Vikings). Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett would also be one of several players to get into the spirit of the holiday, with the defensive standout arriving to work in full Terminator regalia.
What caught the attention of many Cincinnati Bengals fans, however, was an Instagram post made by Macaulay Culkin. The actor, best known to many for his work in the Home Alone franchise, fully embraced his resemblance to Joe Burrow. Burrow would be a good sport about the post, issuing a simple three-word response – “touché sir, touché” – on the post one day later.
Still, we shouldn’t expect Burrow to reciprocate the tribute by dressing as Kevin McCallister next October. He let the media know that Halloween, and donning a costume in particular, wasn’t exactly his thing. Quote the quarterback:
“I’m not into celebrating something just to celebrate it. I don’t know exactly what we’re celebrating there. I’m not a big dress-up code guy. I’ve always been like anti-dress code … Someone tells me I have to wear something, I don’t want to wear that. That’s just always how I’ve been. I guess I’m a contrarian sometimes.”
The truth of that last sentence, however, may never have been on greater display (to date, anyway), than Burrow’s demeanor during and after the Bengals’ 41-24 victory this past Sunday over the Las Vegas Raiders. Desperate to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the Bengals needed to have this win, which several players admitted post-game. While many gave quotes that suggested jubilation or controlled excitement, there was one individual whose remarks were reflective of anything but: Joseph Lee Burrow.
Despite tying his career high for touchdown passes in a game (five), Fox’s cameras caught Burrow seething after throwing a fourth-quarter pick-six to Raiders defensive back Jack Jones. Burrow would then lead the Bengals on two more scoring drives, only to take a seat on the bench, fuming with an expression that made clear he wasn’t celebrating a career day.
This would continue in his post-game press conference, where in response to looking upset after throwing his fifth touchdown pass of the day, Burrow simply responded: “We didn’t exactly have a very good third quarter.” Yes, that is what he said after a quarter where he threw two touchdown passes and outscored Vegas 14-0. He would then double down on his current mental state two questions later, saying, “One win isn’t going to make or break our season. So, I’m going to strive for perfection every — every day and every game. So, until that happens, what’s there to be happy about?”
As it turns out, Burrow did pay tribute to Culkin, after all. While his words throughout the press conference responded to the questions asked, his eyes — intentionally or not — matched the demeanor of one of Culkin’s lesser heralded but well-known characters: Henry Evans, a.k.a. the 12-year-old villain of the 1993 drama The Good Son.
Never seen it? You should. It features Culkin as Henry and a young Elijah Wood as Mark Evans, two cousins who spend a winter together, only for the latter to discover the former’s psychopathic tendencies.
But whereas Henry was seeking violence for the sake of his own amusement, Burrow’s eyes and words showcase what makes him different than many of his Bengal peers: A mentality of intense focus, a killer instinct… and the capability to win a Super Bowl.
A team full of nice guys is great. You generally don’t have to worry about them getting into trouble with the law. You don’t have to worry about them needing to apologize to the media, and some will even use their position to help charitable causes. But in football, on the field, you need a team of unpleasable savages, for whom a win to snap a losing skid offers no comfort, but yet another reminder of their previous losses.
Save for their 2021 Super Bowl season and recent matchups against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bengals look like a team trying to survive instead of dominate. Sure, the team has said all the right things, but the “Us against the world” swagger they once had has been largely absent before Sunday’s Raiders affair. (And let’s be honest, given the opposition’s quarterback instability, injuries, and lack of roster depth, Burrow probably should have been upset the final score wasn’t worse.)
Now, on a short week, they once again face the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens thoroughly erased the bad taste in their mouth from being upset by Cleveland in Week 8, handing the previously 5-3 Denver Broncos a 41-10 beatdown. Knowing there’s no chance they are going to catch the Ravens home alone this Thursday, the Bengals are left with one option and one option only: Let Burrow go into full Henry Evans mode and back him up with their most savage display of offense and defense to date in 2024.
Burrow has The Good Son streak in him, and we know that’s a trait found in the winningest QBs of the era. Tom Brady’s notorious barking on the sidelines showed it. Peyton Manning’s line of scrimmage management did, too. The attention to detail, the microfocus, the sheer intensity… Burrow has it, and Cincinnati needs it. With their season already barely hanging on, like the subjects in The Good Son’s climax, the team needs to provide Burrow with the support necessary to embrace his inner Henry. If so, they might just see their franchise quarterback at his evil best.
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