If Joe Burrow had gotten what he wanted as a child, he would not be the quarterback of a Cincinnati Bengals team that is preparing to play in the Super Bowl LVI. In fact, he wouldn’t be the quarterback of any team. He never wanted to be one in the first place.
“I wanted to be a running back or a receiver, I don’t know why,” Burrow said this week, according to NFL.com. “I guess I thought in Pee Wee football we weren’t gonna throw the ball very much, so I wanted to have the ball in my hand. Obviously, I’m glad it worked out the way that it did. This is my career, I don’t know if I’d be an NFL wide receiver, that’s probably a pipe dream, but I can play quarterback pretty well.”
Burrow can indeed play quarterback pretty well. In just his second season, he has his team in the Super Bowl, making him the first No. 1 overall pick quarterback to accomplish that feat within his first two years in the league. This season, he threw for 4,611 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions, while leading the league in both completion percentage (70.4) and yards per attempt (8.9). His play lifted his Bengals teammates, and they formed one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Burrow noticed the effect he’s been able to have.
“I think my favorite part about playing quarterback, there’s great players at every position in the NFL but I think only a few really affect the game in a drastic way and I think quarterback is the one position on the field that can really affect the game on every single play and I like having the ball in my hands every play and being able to win or lose with me,” he said.
If he’s able to have the same effect in the Super Bowl that he did throughout the year, the Bengals have a pretty good chance to come away with a win — and the first Lombardi Trophy in team history.
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