“Hear me roar” was the gist of Joe Burrow’s chest-thumping celebration after the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Denver Broncos in Week 15.
Burrow’s quarterback play, though, hardly got Bengals fans on their feet.
The star QB went 15-of-22 for 157 yards and one touchdown. The better takeaway? Absolutely no interceptions.
Burrow didn’t play an exciting game, but he played a clean one and his leadership helped the Bengals nab their eighth victory of the season.
After the game, Burrow showed just a bit of emotion with this subtle celebration on the way to the locker room:
Joe Burrow on that chest thump: "A big win. I was excited about it."
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) December 20, 2021
Burrow had previously spoken about his willingness to throw the easy passes and take what opponents give him, and in Week 15 against the Broncos, Burrow did just that.
Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow is team’s fearless and stoic ringleader in 2021
Cincinnati didn’t need Joe Burrow to be Patrick Mahomes this game. He just needed to be Joe Burrow, and that meant taking care of the football up until the very end.
With a little under four minutes in the fourth quarter, Burrow had the chance to drive down the field and put the game away for good. After weighing the options, though, Burrow simply didn’t need to take that chance.
Denver’s Teddy Bridgewater had exited the game due to injury, leaving backup QB Drew Lock to plug in under center.
All Burrow needed to do was run down the clock as much as he could and put the burden on Lock to climb out of the deficit. Many fans may have yawned at Cincinnati’s vapid running plays, but it ultimately won them the game.
Burrow also spoke to the media about staying calm at the end of the game, saying that his experience as a multi-sport athlete in high school helped him keep his poise in tense situations.
Ever the Bengals’ hyper-focused leader, Burrow was quick to stress that Cincinnati’s job wasn’t done.
Joe Burrow: "We still got two more division games left that are really going to decide the fate of the division. We know what kind of team Baltimore is."
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) December 20, 2021
Week 16 will be very enticing indeed.
We can’t wait to see how Burrow will celebrate if (when!) the Bengals get another crucial win against Baltimore next week.