Let's nip this narrative in the bud, or you know what, why not just feed into it? Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is being accused of taking a dive on Myles Garrett's sack, which set the single-season NFL record at 23.
This is reminiscent of how Brett Favre quite clearly went down on purpose so that Michael Strahan could set the mark two decades before. However, Favre's penchant for theatrics made his sacrifice much more egregious than Burrow's — and that's if he went down on purpose in the first place.
We'll dive into the aftermath of Burrow-GarrettGate now that the dust has settled on the Bengals' 20-18 loss to the Browns.
Read More: 4 winners (and 2 losers) for Bengals in relieving Week 18 loss to Browns
Joe Burrow only has one body, and wanted to keep it intact when Myles Garrett came barrelling toward him (again)
Myles Garrett has sacked Joe Burrow many a time and oft. As cool, calm, and collected as Joe is, the dude must have PTSD/night terrors about Myles at this juncture of his career.
Think about it. Do any other elite QBs have to face Garrett twice per year? And bear in mind, that's often with a terrible Bengals defense, horrendous pass protection, and a lackluster rushing attack to keep the Browns' exceptional D from teeing off on Joe Shiesty.
You be the judge. Did Burrow go down out of sheer self-preservation whilst acting on pure instinct, or because he wanted Garrett to get the record?
a once-in-a-lifetime talent continues to make his mark#CLEvsCIN on CBS and NFL+ pic.twitter.com/GOy951yUP9
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) January 4, 2026
Get real with yourselves if you think it's the latter. Seriously.
Trust me, we've got a couple prominent Sports Guys here saying Burrow "pulled a Favre" and there's plenty more where they came from...
Burrow went full Favre here.pic.twitter.com/JdyCXyVs1z
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) January 4, 2026
This is more egregious than the gift Brett Favre gave Michael Strahan.
— Marc Ryan (@MarcRyanOnAir) January 4, 2026
Given time and score, it’s curious why Burrow put a bow on this for Myles, but he certainly did 🤔.
pic.twitter.com/wjN0qbnLl4
The only thing stupider than this storyline is how stupid the Bengals were to play Burrow the entire game and drop him back to pass 40+ times against Garrett and Co!
It's actually one of the biggest subplot-related wins of Cincinnati's entire debacle of a 6-11 season that Burrow made it through Week 18 healthy enough to not be rehabbing. I mean, he'll still need to 100% recover from turf toe. No way that's fully put to bed yet. Nevertheless, it's great that no other visible setbacks have transpired.
Imagine if Joe had tried to wriggle his way away from Garrett when he turned the corner on that history-making sack, scrambled around, and contorted his body in such a way that Garrett tackled him awkwardly. What if Joe's cleat got stuck in the Paycor Stadium turf and he got twisted the wrong way?
You see what I'm saying? Just stop with this "TAKING A DIVE" narrative. Who cares if Burrow did? And knowing the competitor Burrow is, to even be on the field with all he's been through and the Bengals way out of the playoffs, how could anyone suggest he'd intentionally yield to Garrett?
OK rant over. Gotta let the hate out from this season one way or another, eh?