In some ways, the road Joe Burrow traveled to the Super Bowl began in the wake of a brutal hit that left him on the turf at the Fiesta Bowl, struggling to catch his breath.
The setting was the Fiesta Bowl between LSU and Central Florida, at the end of the 2018 college football season. The Tigers trailed 7-3 in the first quarter, but Burrow had LSU on the move. Facing a 3rd and 8, Burrow dropped to throw, but his pass found defensive back Brandon Moore, and was returned for a touchdown to give the Knights a 14-3 lead.
What sent Burrow to the turf? This hit from defensive lineman Joey Connors:
Keep that head on a swivel 👀 pic.twitter.com/HqWI4xLp0P
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 1, 2019
The Tigers now stared at a 14-3 deficit, and their quarterback was trying to get his bearings.
“The only thing I am going to say about it is, the only reason I didn’t get up in one second was because I got the wind knocked out of me,” said Burrow after the game. “I would have got up immediately if that didn’t happen.”
Burrow eventually did get up, and after that interception, he and the Tigers stormed back. Burrow and LSU would score the next 21 points, with the quarterback throwing three touchdown passes, and the Tigers eventually won the game, by a final score of 40-32.
The quarterback finished the contest having completed 21 of 34 passes for 394 yards, four touchdowns and the sole interception. But that interception perhaps taught Burrow a lesson. That in the wake of a mistake — even one that left you struggling to breathe — there could be redemption on the other side.
Prior to the interception, Burrow had completed just two of six passes. But after the turnover, and the hit? The quarterback caught fire, completing 19 of 28 passing attempts for the four touchdowns.
After the game, Burrow shared some of this thoughts. On the interception and the hit itself? “I didn’t really think about the hit too much after I got up. It hurt for a second, then I got right up and went on to the next play.”
On what leadership at the quarterback position entails? “It’s very important from leaders to exude toughness throughout the entire game and it doesn’t start in the season, it starts in the weight room in the offseason and if your best leaders aren’t your best workers then you’re not going to be a very good football team.”
On what the win could mean for the Tigers the following season? “It gives us a lot of momentum going into next year. I think we can be really special. think we can do some great things as long as we keep our foot on the gas pedal and keep working.”
You know how that story ends. With Burrow, cigar in hand in the bowels of Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, having led the Tigers to a 15-0 season and a National Championship. That Fiesta Bowl, specifically that hit, would be arguably the final low point of his college football career.
Fast forward to tonight. After seeing his rookie season cut short due to a knee injury, Burrow and the Bengals reached a Super Bowl in just his second season in the league. But they fell short, instead watching Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams hold the Lombardi Trophy aloft at SoFi Stadium.
Here is how Burrow and the Bengals can finish the job next season, and avoid a fate another quarterback suffered decades ago: Dan Marino. After Marino and the Dolphins reached Super Bowl XIX, falling short to Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers, many believed Marino would get another shot at a title. Maybe even multiple chances at a Super Bowl ring.
He never returned to the big game.
Here is how Burrow can avoid that fate.
