Why Joe Burrow is still the king of the AFC North despite the Cleveland Browns' addition of Deshaun Watson
The AFC North division race got real interesting last week with the Cleveland Browns' addition of quarterback Deshaun Watson. Cleveland traded three first-round picks, a third-round pick, and two fourth-round picks to the Texans for Watson. A hefty price for a franchise quarterback. Watson now has the most impressive resumé of any quarterback in the […]
The AFC North division race got real interesting last week with the Cleveland Browns' addition of quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Cleveland traded three first-round picks, a third-round pick, and two fourth-round picks to the Texans for Watson. A hefty price for a franchise quarterback.
Watson now has the most impressive resumé of any quarterback in the AFC. He's a three-time Pro-Bowler, he led the league in passing yards in 2020 and he has the highest career completion percentage in NFL history (67.8%).
But despite those accolades, Watson isn't the new king of the AFC North.
That title is still reserved for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
Burrow has only been in the NFL for two years, yet the AFC North is already his division. And the arrival of Watson does nothing to change that.
The former LSU star proved this season that he has a special trait — it's something that can't be quantified — that very few NFL quarterbacks have.
Burrow makes everyone around him better. He doesn't necessarily have to take the team on his back — even though Burrow is certainly capable of doing that — due to the players around him stepping up their game because of his incredible leadership.
Watson has never played in a Super Bowl, despite playing several years with star wide receiver Deandre Hopkins and stud edge rusher JJ Watt (Watson is 1-2 in the playoffs).
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was the NFL MVP in 2019, is more physically gifted than Burrow, but he's also yet to reach a Super Bowl. Jackson is 1-3 in the playoffs in his career.
Burrow is the only quarterback in the division that's proven he can win on a big stage — and he did it with a team that had no business winning the AFC this past season.
Cincinnati's offensive line was atrocious. Burrow was sacked 70 times (including 19 times in the playoffs). Yet Burrow found a way to lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl.
There's a specific example of how Burrow is better than Watson that was mentioned on Twitter this week.
Watson's last playoff game, in January 2020, was a 51-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Houston had a 24-0 lead in that game, yet the Texans blew it. Now, obviously the defense didn't play well for Houston, so you can't put the entire loss on Watson. But this goes back to what I mentioned about Burrow making everyone around him better. Burrow doesn't play defense, but his presence alone makes the Bengals better in every facet of the game. Burrow raises the standard.
That's what happened when the Bengals were down 21-3 to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game earlier this year. Burrow had everyone on the Bengals' roster believing that Cincinnati would win the game. And that's exactly what transpired.
Watson doesn't necessarily have that same effect on a team. With the game on the line, who do you want in the huddle?
I think the answer is easily Burrow. And I think we're only seeing the beginning of his greatness.
Featured image via Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
