Top 5 moments of Joe Burrow's football career
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has played less than two full seasons in the NFL and he's already a legend. There's just something about Burrow that's, for lack of a better word, cool. The former LSU star has swagger. He makes those around him better. He's insanely competitive. And he wins. Burrow led LSU to […]
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has played less than two full seasons in the NFL and he's already a legend.
There's just something about Burrow that's, for lack of a better word, cool.
The former LSU star has swagger. He makes those around him better. He's insanely competitive. And he wins.
Burrow led LSU to one of the greatest seasons we've ever seen from a college football team back in 2019. Then he took the Bengals from the bottom of the AFC North to the Super Bowl in just one season….while recovering from the torn ACL he suffered as a rookie in 2022.
This is only the beginning of what already looks to be a potential Hall of Fame career. Burrow obviously has to stay healthy and continue playing at a high level, but everything we've seen so far points toward Burrow being the next great NFL quarterback.
Speaking of "what we've seen so far", there have already been some tremendous moments from Burrow, dating back to his days at LSU.
Here are his top five moments so far.
5. The night Joe Burrow became the Joe Burrow we now know
Joe Burrow became a household name during his incredible 2019 season with LSU — a season in which he led the Tigers to a 15-0 record and a win in the national championship game against Clemson.
But the legend of Joe Burrow actually started at the very end of the 2018 season.
In LSU's final game of the 2018 season — the Fiesta Bowl against UCF — Burrow took a massive hit after throwing a pick-six that put him on the ground for a moment. The UCF defender taunted Burrow while he was down as LSU fell behind 14-3.
Burrow would go on to throw for 394 yards and four touchdowns while leading the Tigers to a 40-32 win.
And thus, the legend of Joe Burrow was born.
4. Winning the Heisman Trophy
Not all Heisman Trophy winners go on to have great success in the NFL. Just ask Chris Weinke, Jason White, and Eric Crouch (among others).
But that's obviously not the case with Burrow.
Burrow wasn't really on the Heisman Trophy radar before the start of the 2019 season. That was supposed to be a battle between Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa. But by the end of the season, there was no doubt that the award would be going to Burrow. Especially after he passed for 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. Those are the definition of video game numbers.
3. Going off against the Ravens in week 16 of the 2021 season
We've established that Burrow was an incredible player at LSU. And we started to see in 2020 that he was going to be a good NFL player. But it was week 16 against the Baltimore Ravens this past season that Burrow showed he can truly take over a game.
Burrow passed for 525 yards and four touchdowns against his AFC North rivals.
He even showed a little of the swagger that's become known for after his dominating performance.
“This is the NFL,” said Burrow after the game. “This isn’t peewee, this isn’t high school where you go out and run up the score. You play until the final whistle. I don’t care what the score is. We’ve been in spots where teams go out and do that to us. They did it to us last year. No sympathy from me.”
Cold. Blooded.
2. Winning the AFC Championship
It was a surprise when the Bengals won the AFC North last season and made the playoffs after going 4-11-1 the previous season. And that was as far as most expected Cincinnati to go.
But the Bengals made an improbable run to the Super Bowl and nearly beat the Los Angeles Rams to win their first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
For now, this is Burrow's greatest accomplishment as a professional football player. But if he continues on the path he's on, this will just be the first great pro accomplishment for Burrow among many great achievements.
1. Winning a national championship at LSU
There is nothing better for an athlete than winning a national championship. And in 2019, it was the perfect ending to possibly the greatest season we've ever seen from a college football team. LSU crushed nearly everyone they played in 2019. They won the SEC Championship against Georgia and both College Football Playoff games (against Oklahoma and Clemson) by a combined 79 points. The three biggest games of the season and they dominated.
Burrow was masterful in the national championship game against Clemson, passing for 463 yards and five touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown. It was as good of a performance as I've ever seen from a quarterback in a championship game at any level.
Who knew that just a couple of years later we'd see Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase putting up monster numbers together in Cincinnati. Funny how things work out sometimes.
Featured image via Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
