Joe Burrow Local Superstar

By Hunter Schrader

For the first time since 1988, the Cincinnati Bengals are going to the Super Bowl LVI.  Part of the reason for the Bengals being in the Super Bowl is due to Joe Burrow. Joe is from Athens, Ohio, which is only an hour away from Parkersburg. Joe was a first overall draft pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Joe won a Heisman Trophy and led LSU to the national championship where they defeated Clemson and won the 2020 National championship.

 In his rookie season, Joe tore his ACL, MCL and PCL. Due to these ligaments being torn in his knee, he was finished for the rest of his rookie season. Burrow did not know how he was going to be after this injury. ACL tears are hard to come back from and his team were worried about their franchise quarterback’s future. Fast forward a year and Joe Burrow is in the Super Bowl.

Let us review the road the Bengals took to get to the Super Bowl. It all started with the Bengals winning the AFC North division and earning the fourth seed in the playoffs. In the first round, known as the “wild card weekend”, the Bengals hosted the raiders and won 26-19. This was Cincy’s first playoffs win since 1990.

 The Bengals had to go to Nashville and play the number one seeded Titans and they upset them 19-16 in the divisional round in the playoffs. This was the Bengals first ever road playoff victory and it was another record broken for Joe Burrow.

 Finally, they traveled to Arrowhead to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship. The Cincinnati Bengals were once again underdogs, and even though they beat the Chiefs in regular season, they had to do it again when it mattered the most. The Bengals trailed the Chiefs 21-10 at the half, but Bengals came back to win in overtime 27-24. The first time they won the AFC title since 1988.

It is crazy to think Joe Burrow, a boy from Ohio, has become an NFL superstar. All his accomplishments happened in just one season. He has put the Bengals back on top of the NFL. It was just last year this team won four games. When Joe tore his ACL, he did not know what his future held. Now the Bengals will face the Rams in the Super Bowl in two weeks’ time. Small town Ohio boy Joe has become big time superstar. Good luck in Super Bowl Joe.