QB Keeper: Bengals Claim AFC North, Thanks To Superstar Burrow

Maybe he’s not Tom Terrific, but at the very least, he’s Badass Burrow.

Just days after Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo compared Bengals QB Joe Burrow to Tom Brady, Burrow torched Kansas City’s defense, claiming an AFC North title and establishing himself as one of the game’s top signal callers along the way.

"I said it in the preseason, we were talking about the playoffs," Burrow said following Cincinnati’s 34-31 win. "I said the easiest way to do that is win the division. They kind of laughed at us, but we knew the team we had."

Though this is just his second season, Burrow has already cemented his status as one of the NFL’s elite passers, and the comparisons to Brady, Mahomes, and Rodgers are more than warranted. A week after setting Cincinnati’s franchise record for passing yards in a game (525), Burrow passed for 446 yards, four touchdowns and no picks. Burrow, the first overall pick of the 2020 Draft, managed to outshine all-world Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, who passed for 259 yards and two scores in the losing effort.

And though he now shares some of the same successes as the elite QBs he’s often compared to, he’s already accomplished something Brady, Mahomes and ARod haven’t: he’s guided his hometown team to the playoffs.

"It means more because I’m from Ohio and I know the history of the Bengals," said Burrow. "The ownership we have has taken heat, but they’ve done a great job building this team."

Thanks to Burrow, who on Sunday set the Bengals’ single-season record for passing yards (4,611), Cincinnati’s team building will continue in the post-season, which the Bengals haven’t played in since 2015. And they’ll be led by a badass QB, who also happens to be keeper.

 

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