Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals went into a hostile environment at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, but the quarterback clearly was not rattled. It doesn’t sound like he was that impressed with the noise level from Baltimore Ravens fans, either.
Burrow and the Bengals dominated the Ravens en route to a 41-17 victory. The former LSU star threw for over 400 yards and had three touchdowns. He told Peter King of NBC Sports that being a former LSU star has helped prepare him for playing on the road.
“We knew that they were gonna be jacked up for us to come in, and expecting to beat our a–,” Burrow said of Ravens fans. “But we were ready for it. Playing in the SEC definitely, definitely helped. Gets way louder in the SEC than in any of these NFL stadiums.”
Some NFL fans might interpret that as a slight, but it’s merely a fact. Many of the SEC stadiums Burrow played in have far more raucous environments and are significantly larger than any NFL stadium. Crowd noise is nothing new for Burrow.
The Bengals sit at the top of the AFC with their 5-2 record. Most people picked them to finish last in the AFC North. Instead, they are a legitimate playoff contender. Burrow gave fans quite the injury scare last week, but he proved on Sunday that he is perfectly healthy.
Joe Burrow has made great strides in his second NFL season, and the Cincinnati Bengals are a legitimate playoff contender because of it. There are some people who believe the Bengals being 5-2 and atop the AFC is a fluke, but Rex Ryan certainly is not one of them.
Ryan said on ESPN’s “Get Up!” Monday morning that he has been blown away by Burrow’s development. The former coach enthusiastically compared Burrow to Tom Brady.
“I would absolutely love him if he was on my team. He reminds me so dang much of Tom Brady it’s sick,” Ryan said. “In every single way — the way he looks, the way he can throw the football, the way he conducts himself. Everything about him reminds me of Tom Brady.”
The Brady comparison is one of the most overused in sports, namely because there will never be another Brady. Ryan, who coached against Brady several times, knows that. What he was trying to express was how poised and polished Burrow looks for a quarterback who is only 24 and has played in just 17 NFL games.
Burrow threw for more than 400 yards and had three touchdowns in Sunday’s blowout road win over the Baltimore Ravens. He now has 1,956 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season. Keep in mind he is doing all this after suffering a devastating knee injury less than a year ago.
Burrow is not the only young quarterback who has been compared to Brady this season. We highly doubt he’ll win seven Super Bowls and play until he’s 44, but there’s no question the Bengals are finally back on the map because of him.
