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‘I’m going with Burrow’ – Joe Burrow can get Cincinatti Bengals on track in showdown of Heisman-winning LSU quarterbacks
If you’re writing a list of all the quarterbacks who could dethrone Patrick Mahomes, it would be a short one.
And although he and his team ended up narrowly losing 26-25 to the Chiefs last Sunday, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow would make that list, winning three of his five duels with Mahomes thus far in their careers.
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Even after starting the season with two consecutive defeats, former New York Giant Jason Bell is backing Burrow and his star power to get back on track against rookie signal-caller Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders on Monday night.
“I'm gonna go with Burrow,” Bell told talkSPORT when asked to choose between him and Daniels.
“Because I'm a Burrow believer. Anybody who knows me, knows I will wear a Joe Burrow jersey if I have one waiting for him to send me. It hasn't happened, but listen, Joe Burrow has showed you what he can do.”
Taken with the 2nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders after a superb final season at LSU that saw him win the Heisman Trophy, Daniels has started his professional career in encouraging fashion.
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Of the six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the most recent draft, only Daniels and 1st overall pick Caleb Williams had led their teams to a victory after two weeks of the new season - Bo Nix made it three in Week 3.
Daniels’ maiden win came against Bell’s former team in New York, as six field goals powered the Commanders to a 21-18 victory.
Despite Daniels’ promising introduction to the NFL, Bell believes there is a long way to go before he reaches the levels of Burrow, another Heisman winner while at LSU.
“Daniels is a talent,” Bell said. “He still has to overcome rookie mistakes issues. Joe Burrow is a proven commodity.
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"As long as he's healthy when he's on the field, that team always has a chance. They're always competitive. Jayden Daniels will be fine, but I'm going with Burrow at this moment.”
Teammate of two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Eli Manning while with the Giants, Bell knows a thing or two about what it takes to lead a team at the NFL level.
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“I love Joe Burrow, I really do,” Bell continued. “There are a lot of quarterbacks I would follow throughout my career - guys, I look up to. Joe burrow is one of these guys I would like to play with.”
Burrow tossed two touchdowns and threw for more than 250 yards with zero interceptions in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs and although he won’t be satisfied with the end result, it represents a significant improvement on his Week 1 showing.
The Bengals began the season with a drab 16-10 defeat to the New England Patriots but Burrow and company are no strangers to slow starts, going 0-2 to open each of the last three seasons.
Burrow is just 1-9 in his career in Weeks 1 and 2 of the season.
In two of those seasons the Bengals reached the AFC Championship game twice and the Super Bowl once, losing to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.
Burrow’s team enters Monday in last place in the AFC North while Daniels’ Commanders have a chance to go top of the NFC East with a win.
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If Burrow and the Bengals drop to 0-3 on Monday night, they can all but kiss the postseason goodbye.
Since 1990, there have been 162 teams to start the season 0-3. Only four of those teams made the playoffs.
That's 2.5%.
In other words, Monday night is a must win for Burrow and the Bengals if they want to keep their Super Bowl aspirations alive.
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