Joe Burrow Makes NFL History After Leading Bengals to Super Bowl Appearance

Joe Burrow is heading to the first Super Bowl of his career as he led the Cincinnati Bengals over the Kansas City Chiefs to a 27-24 victory in the AFC Championship Game. And as a result, the Bengals quarterback has done something no other quarterback in NFL history has been able to achieve. As mentioned by CBS Sports, Burrow became the first quarterback to reach the Super Bowl as a No. 1 overall pick in his first two years. 

In his first season, Burrow played in just 10 games due to him suffering a torn ACL. But in 2021, Burrow came back in a big way, throwing for 4,611 and 34 touchdowns with a 108.3 passer rating. In the playoffs, Burrow led the Bengals over the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans and the Chiefs, and will now play in their first Super Bowl since 1989 (1988 season). 

"We've been a second-half team all year," Burrow told CBS Sports' Jim Nantz following the win over the Chiefs. "We don't really want to be that way, but it's kind of how it's worked out. Our defense really stepped up in the second half, and on offense we made plays when we had to. Our offensive line played great; we started running the ball. Just a great overall team effort."   

And when talking to reporters, Burrow talked about being in last place in the AFC North last year to playing for a Super Bowl in less than two weeks.  "That's a tough question because you don't really think about it that way," Burrow said, per the Bengals' official website. "You just think about it as going into an offseason and working really hard for potential opportunities. This is what you work so hard for. We didn't go into last season saying that we have to have a great offseason to make it to the Super Bowl next year. I think everyone just went into it and knew they had to get better as players so we could be better as a team."

Burrow has experience playing for a championship. In 2019, Burrow was the starting quarterback for LSU and led the team to the national title and undefeated season. A big reason for LSU's success was Burrow's production as he threw for 5,671 yards 60 touchdowns and just six interceptions.