When talking about the Cincinnati Bengals as Super Bowl losers and how hard it is for the losing team to get back to the big game, the focus on individual players doesn’t come up often.
But the topic came up recently as the Bengals go through offseason workouts and it’s a pretty interesting one to think about.
According to NFL Network’s James Palmer, Joe Burrow is the 13th quarterback to start his first Super Bowl at 25 or younger. None of the six to lose in that start have ever made it back.
So the question is simple — can Burrow get back and do better? Here are the six who lost and didn’t make it back:
A few people have asked. The other 6:
Jared Goff
Coin Kaepernick
Drew Bledsoe
Dan Marino
David Woodley
Vince Ferragamo— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) May 25, 2022
The short answer feels like a layup — yes.
The longer answer is simple enough, too. Burrow’s Bengals were a bit ahead of schedule last year and spent this offseason upgrading a Super Bowl team’s biggest weakness three times (the offensive line). As observers have pointed out, Burrow’s changed the culture and this is his first normal offseason, too.
Based on merely projecting the rest of Burrow’s career and how wide the current championship window seems, it’s safe to think he can overcome this bit of history, too.
