Burrow was sacked seven times in all, tying the Super Bowl record and bringing his season total, including the playoffs, to 70 sacks. That is staggering punishment for any quarterback to endure, especially one playing on a surgically repaired knee, especially one as clearly the linchpin of the franchise as Burrow is.
“One time, let alone however many times it was, not even counting the things that weren’t sacks, just him getting hit in general so, it has been tough,” tight end C.J. Uzomah said. “I mean, that’s franchise, right? You don’t want to see your franchise quarterback getting hit as many times as he did. That’s probably going to be a point of emphasis coming up.”
The Bengals loss, and Burrow’s duress, were reminiscent of the beating Patrick Mahomes took from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in last year’s Super Bowl. The Chiefs rebuilt their offensive line last offseason, and the Bengals are in good position to do the same this offseason. The Bengals are flush with young skill position talent, and the defensive rebuild in free agency was an under-the-radar strength. But their need to rely on quick passes to save Burrow from further punishment at the hands of the Rams defensive front — Taylor said screen passes are often foiled by that front, too, with tipped balls and interceptions — meant Burrow could not hold the ball long enough to let big plays develop. As a result, they struggled on third down, converting just 3-of-14 third-down tries and just 1-of-3 fourth-down attempts.
This was the first postseason game Burrow has lost since his high school team lost the Ohio state championship. Burrow has said he thinks about that loss all the time. On Sunday, he said that losing the Super Bowl felt the same.
Burrow did not seem crestfallen — none of the Bengals did — perhaps because they are young enough to believe they will be back to the Super Bowl again soon, perhaps because they know they have the one irreplaceable piece that so few teams are lucky to have, and he is as resilient mentally as he will have to be physically.
“We’re probably as hungry now as we were before the game,” Burrow said.
A few moments later, he began what was going to be a long, slow walk to the team bus, before someone prevailed on him to let the golf cart take him. It was the first time this offseason — and it better not be the last time — that the Bengals have to protect Burrow from his own toughness.