Joe Burrow
After transferring, Burrow spent his next two seasons playing for the LSU Tigers, winning the Heisman Trophy and the College Football Playoff National Championship as a senior.Burrow had a breakout season in 2021 when he led the Bengals to their first playoff win since 1990, ending the longest active drought in the four major North American sports, and an appearance in Super Bowl LVI.[11] The Burrows spent two years in Fargo before Jim accepted the defensive coordinator position at Ohio University in Athens.[21] The game was further part of Ohio State's competition for the starting quarterback position, contested by Burrow, Barrett, and Dwayne Haskins.In the Tigers' season opener against Georgia Southern, Burrow threw for 278 yards and five touchdowns in a 55–3 win, and was later named SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week (with Tua Tagovailoa).[36] The streak came to an end the next week against seventh-ranked Florida, but Burrow's 293 yards and three touchdown passes helped lead the Tigers to another win, 42–28.[87] In the second half of a Week 11 game against the Washington Football Team, Burrow was hit low while throwing a pass and subsequently tore his ACL and MCL in his left knee, among other damage to his PCL and meniscus.[94] The victory in this game was Cincinnati's ninth of the year, clinching the first winning record for the team since the 2015 season, and put the Bengals in first place of the AFC North.[101] During the Divisional Round against the top-seeded Tennessee Titans, Burrow threw for 348 yards and an interception in the 19–16 win, which was the first time in franchise history the Bengals won a playoff game on the road.[103] In the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs, Burrow threw for 250 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, and helped the Bengals overcome a 21–3 deficit to win 27–24 in overtime.[105] In the Super Bowl, Burrow threw for 263 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked 7 times, ultimately losing to the Los Angeles Rams 23–20.[109] In Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Burrow committed a career-high five turnovers, which included losing a fumble and throwing four interceptions, along with being sacked seven times in the 23–20 overtime loss.This resulted in the Bengals being declared AFC North champions ahead of their final week match against Baltimore, marking the first time the franchise won consecutive division titles.[123][124] In a rematch of the previous AFC Championship Game, the Bengals lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs 23–20.[126] Bengals head coach Zac Taylor initially stated that Burrow was to be sidelined for "several weeks",[127] with no clear timeline in place for his return, but later made a bold announcement that he was "better than he's ever looked," implying a more positive than expected recovery.[131] On November 16, Burrow suffered a torn Scapholunate ligament in his right wrist in the first half of the Bengals' Week 11 game against the Ravens.[137] Burrow continued to be involved with team activities and supported his teammates, particularly backup quarterback Jake Browning, from the sidelines for all remaining games of the 2023 season.[150] Against the Steelers in Week 13, Burrow had another prolific passing day, finishing with 309 yards and three touchdowns, but he also committed three turnovers as the Bengals lost 44–38 and dropped to 4–8 on the season.[151] With their playoff hopes dwindling, Burrow led the Bengals on a four-game winning streak to reach 8–8 heading into the final week.During the streak, Burrow completed over 75% of his passes for 1,304 yards, 12 touchdowns, and three interceptions for a 116 passer rating, highlighted by a 412-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Denver Broncos in an elimination scenario.[152] The performance also marked Burrow's eighth consecutive outing with at least 250 passing yards and three touchdowns, the longest streak in NFL history.[72] In 2021, Sports Illustrated writer Mike Santagata wrote that Burrow is "bigger than he looks at about 230 pounds," while also noting his athleticism and strength."[163] College GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit likened Burrow to a "co-offensive coordinator", stating "That's the NFL model, when you have a quarterback able to invest and communicate at that level.[162] Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan has stated that Burrow has "an uncanny ability to place the ball accurately on the move anywhere on the field."[164] Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote that Burrow possess elite traits in regards to his "combination of picking up the blitz and his accuracy outside the pocket".[91] Former New England Patriots running back Kevin Faulk compared Burrow to Tom Brady, noting the former's poise and competitiveness.[172][173] ProFootballTalk writer Peter King wrote that "Burrow's steely mentality and his right arm are putting him on the path to greatness.[190] In January 2023, Burrow was among a coalition of about a dozen athletes, including Blake Griffin and Kevin Gausman, who purchased a 104-acre (42 ha) north Iowa farm with plans to further acquire a diverse set of agricultural assets.[191] In 2024, Burrow bought one of the ten replicas of the Batmobile from The Dark Knight film trilogy for $2.9 million to add to his car collection.[192] In the wake of the Roe v. Wade being overturned in June 2022, Burrow spoke out on Instagram in favor of abortion rights in the United States.
QuarterbackAmes, IowaAthensThe Plains, OhioOhio StateCincinnati BengalsNFL Comeback Player of the YearPro BowlNFL passing yards leaderNFL passing touchdowns leaderNFL completion percentage leaderCFP national championHeisman TrophyMaxwell AwardWalter Camp AwardJohnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardDavey O'Brien AwardManning AwardLombardi AwardAP College Football Player of the YearSporting News College Football Player of the YearUnanimous All-AmericanSEC Male Athlete of the YearSEC Offensive Player of the YearPasser ratingPro Football ReferencefootballNational Football Leaguecollege footballOhio State BuckeyesLSU TigersCollege Football Playoff National Championshipfirst overall2020 NFL draftfour major North American sportsSuper Bowl LVIlargest in NFL historyJim BurrowIowa State UniversitySports IllustratedMississippi StateOle MissUniversity of MississippiNebraska2002 Rose BowlUniversity of NebraskaLincolnNorth DakotaNorth Dakota State UniversityCentral MichiganDan EnosOhio UniversityAthens High SchooltouchdownsMr. Football Awarddual-threat quarterback247Sportsarea codeAppalachian OhioredshirtingJ. T. BarrettDwayne HaskinsLouisiana State UniversityAuburnSoutheastern ConferenceLSU's 7-overtime and 5-hour long lossTexas A&MIV therapyFiesta BowlEd OrgeronPatrick QueenDonald TrumpWhite Housethe college football national championshipGeorgia SouthernTua TagovailoaRohan DaveyVanderbiltUtah StateFloridaAlabamaon November 92012 BCS National Championship GameCollege Football PlayoffClyde Edwards-HelaireKentucky'sTim CouchMissouri'sDrew LockSEC Championship GameGeorgiaJalen Hurtsfood insecurityAthens CountyOklahoma2019 Peach Bowl2020 National Championship GameColt BrennanBailey ZappeCase KeenumRedshirtedWashington Football TeamWonderlicNFL Combine2020 Cincinnati Bengals seasonBaker MayfieldKyler MurrayNFL Offensive Rookie of the YearLos Angeles ChargersCleveland BrownsC. J. UzomahJacksonville Jaguarsmeniscusinjured reserve2021 Cincinnati Bengals seasonBaltimore RavensM&T Bank StadiumBaltimore525 yardsBoomer Esiason2015 seasonAFC NorthKansas City ChiefsLas Vegas Raiders1990 seasonTennessee Titans