Thirty years ago in the heart of New Orleans, rapper Lil Elt released a classic. That classic was in bounce music, a sultry, call-and-response genre that would eventually birth twerking. The then-17-year-old called it ‘Get The Gat’. The reception was wild, pouring from cars and front porches throughout the city. But its reach was ultimately parochial. The earth did not shatter, writes Megan Feringa for our NFL newsletter End Zone.
Thirty years ago. That is the theme. Thirty years ago, 25-year-old quarterback Joe Burrow was not born. The World Wide Web was only just launched to the public. Microsoft.com went online. The Cincinnati Bengals had just entered the first year of their eventual 31-year-long playoff win drought.
But this is a theme, so what do a New Orleans bounce classic and the Cincinnati Bengals have in common?
Joe Burrow has given them a revival.
In the aftermath of the Bengals' 26-19 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, Lil Elt’s vocals paraded through the Bengals’ locker room.
This was not the first time. Burrow first transformed shaking your all-important handguns to a 1992 track into a viral TikTok dance two years ago when he led Louisiana State University to a first National Championship title in 12 years. He helped transform LSU from perennial quarterback wasteland to young quarterbacks’ top choices. And now, in his sophomore year, he is helping transform the Cincinnati Bengals into a consistent competitor on the NFL stage.
In other words, Burrow harnesses the power to make things cool again.
It is easy to view Burrow solely through that prism: a ferociously confident young man relishing an easy habit. Make no mistake, Burrow is ferociously confident. You cannot look cool (while refraining from looking both smug and ridiculous) when smoking a cigar and sitting cross legged on a couch without dripping in confidence.
But it has not come easy, and more often that not, the odds stacked against Burrow to exude such mettle.
Before Burrow made it as Cincinnati’s Tiger King, Burrow redshirted his freshman year at Ohio State University, only to play backup for three years. He took the gamble to move halfway across the country to Louisiana for a last-ditch chance. Yet upon arrival, he dove into a four-man quarterback competition. Dissent threatened to fracture the dressing room as two of the leading quarterback options transferred to other schools. Players called a meeting and made their thoughts known.
Then Burrow stood up.
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“If anyone has anything against me or anything to say, let’s get it out on the table right now. Because I’m here to win and I’m here to lead the team.”
It was the kind of leader that a school like Louisiana State University, a historical football Goliath that was drifting further away from its successful SEC contemporaries, had been calling out for. LSU would win the National Championship. Burrow would shatter records while developing a reputation for taking hits, for diving into tackles rather than sliding away from them. It is microcosmic of the way Burrow approaches life: brazen iconoclasm.
In the NFL, Burrow would again need that approach. After a first-round draft pick to the Bengals, his rookie season ended prematurely with a torn ACL in his left leg. He was already on a desperate mission to improve his arm strength. Rather than shelve it, Burrow worked hard to ensure both were match-ready for this year. And oh, how he has succeeded.
This season, Burrow completed 70.4% of his passes for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns in 16 matches. He has established himself as a young quarterback to fear, or as former NFL cornerback Domonique Foxworth tweeted: the “swaggy underdog college transfer turned No.1 pick who can elevate a franchise.”
The description sounds like a satirical wanted advert from a later night sketch, or a cliché in an early noughties sport movie. Compound that with the fact the franchise is the Bengals, it sounds utterly bonkers.
And yet, Burrow has done just this. And even if no Pro Bowl team will bear his name on their rosters, Burrow is still the NFL’s very own neighbourhood cool guy wearing rose-tinted glasses and a nonplussed expression after just shattering a 31-year-long title of unenviable ignominy.
“It felt good,” was Burrow’s response afterwards, though if this really was a scripted film, Burrow would have said “it was cool.” Because it was cool. And Burrow does not look close to losing his habit of making things so.
Come this Saturday, that will be his mission. Cincinnati will take on the Tennessee Titans, who (if you reach far back into your football archives), were once the Houston Oilers, the very last team the Bengals defeated in their last playoff win 31 years ago.
According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Titans are a 3.5-point favourite in the game. The Titans are a resilient team, stocked with an inveterate offence and a strengthened defence. During the regular season, they went 6-3 without MVP-contending running back Derrick Henry while Ryan Tannehill enjoyed one his worst seasons as a passer.
But the Bengals will not fret much. They have channelled their own version of resilience. If anything, their quarterback will feel dangerously comfortable.
