It appears Joe Burrow vs. Justin Herbert is possibly the next great quarterback debate.
One doesn’t have to look far to see Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers fans duking it out online over which quarterback is better and which franchise might be better positioned for the long-term because of their passer.
Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic has now stepped into this battle to declare both guys hits and explain why both fanbases should be happy.
A portion of the writeup on Burrow:
“Folks can debate Burrow versus Justin Herbert if they’d like, but I’m not sure there’s a point. Both have been pretty damn awesome through two seasons. Herbert has better numbers, but Burrow’s also had to deal with an injury — and has the trump card of having already played in a Super Bowl. They are different players, but both are outstanding franchise quarterbacks for their respective organizations.”
And on Herbert:
“He’s been outstanding through two seasons with the Chargers, throwing for 9,350 yards, 69 touchdowns and 25 interceptions while averaging 7.4 YPA. He has the ability to make just about any throw on the field — on the run or from the pocket. We probably haven’t seen his best stuff yet, either.”
Burrow’s not too far behind in the stats category given his 7,299 yards with 47 touchdowns and 19 interceptions on a 7.9 YPA despite losing time to injury.
Either way, the story here remains the same — both fanbases should be thrilled about where they’re at. They’ve got long-term answers at the most important position in sports with guys boasting top-three potential.
This sort of debate was inevitable because of how the draft class unfolded (one of these guys could have been Tua Tagovailoa instead had he panned out yet). The Bengals and Chargers just happen to be the lucky franchises that actually hit the jackpot — instantly.
