The last time the Cincinnati Bengals went to the Super Bowl, the Cold War was still on, Joe Burrow’s birth was still eight years away and the “nineties” weren’t even a thing yet. The year was 1989.

Since then, they’ve never seen the big stage up-close. And in the franchise’s long 58-year journey, the city has never held a Super Bowl parade. The fans have been waiting patiently for years. Well, 2022, might just be the year for them. And at the center of this fortune change for the erstwhile ‘Bungles’ has been one man: Joe Burrow.

He has been the catalyst that has caused the tsunami of change in the Bengals locker room. In a recent conversation with legendary NFL  QB Drew Brees, the 25-year-old opened up about his journey, before and until he plays, arguably, the biggest game of his life this Sunday.

In conversation with Drew Brees

It was a wise affair, as the humble veteran met with the composed entrant. Brees, referring to the move from Ohio to LSU and last year’s knee injury, asked, “What are some defining moments for you over the last 5-6years that have positioned you to be where you are right now?”

To which Burrow replied, “Well, my whole time at Ohio State was a challenge…..I knew I wasn’t gonna play early and then, you know, battled injuries throughout my career there and was never able to see the field.”

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He said it was a real struggle to stay positive since he was putting in the same amount of effort, but reaching no fruition. “I wasn’t seeing the product on the field. I was getting better in practice but it’s like at some point I gotta go and show it on the field.”

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He admitted it was frustrating to know that you are good enough but not getting the opportunity to showcase it. And so he left for LSU where he achieved as per his true potential and then some.

The injuries, according to him, were the most significant moments of overcoming adversity. Being resilient through the rehab processes has got him to where he is today.

Joe Burrow had to relearn maneuvering in the pocket

After his fairly unsuccessful stint at Ohio State, Burrow moved to LSU to a completely new system. His confidence had taken a huge hit and even though he was performing well in practice, he admitted that most of his game involved in-game decision making and “maneuvering in the pocket to extend plays.”

“Have you always had this level of confidence about you?” Brees asked next.

“Yeah, I would say so..” Burrow said in his typical nonchalant manner. He added, “…I think, just putting myself in a lot of competitive situations, growing up, playing three sports, you know it is the same thing as getting reps in practice, at a certain play. You get reps in competitive situations and you start to, you know, realise certain things about yourself, you know, you feel like you can step up in certain moments and you know, the moment’s never too big for you..”

From the very first practice, Joe Burrow felt he fit in

As per Burrow, he played really well from the jump in the NFL. He said it was a pretty similar situation to LSU since a lot of his teammates from there were part of the roster at Cincinnati.

Burrow even said, “The jump from high school to college was probably a bigger jump than college to the NFL… I felt ready to play from day 1.”

Brees asked, “You guys did this so quickly, right? Did you have any idea that his would happen so quickly?” 

“No, probably not.” Burrow replied with a chuckle. “But I knew that anything could happen in the NFL. I didn’t really think about it as ‘you know I gotta come in here and turn this place around.’ I came in and I said I just need to be myself and play football the way I always have, and I think it’s gonna work out.”

And work out it certainly has. From a losing season that ended with a knee injury, Burrow and the Bengals have really turned things around in 2021.

They look to write the final chapter of their Cinderalla story this Sunday against the LA Rams at Super Bowl LVI.

Watch this story: Joe Burrow Makes Massive Claim About Being the Best NFL QB