Peyton and Burrow; Two Strikingly Similar Sophomore Seasons
Photo by Aaron Conway
Year in and year out, once a quarterback finishes their rookie season, people start talking about whether or not they're in for a sophomore slump. But many times, quarterbacks ignore the narrative and do extremely well. In this case, that quarterback would be none other than Joe Burrow.
Joe Burrow has had himself a fantastic season thus far, finishing the regular season with 4,611 yards, 34 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He led the Bengals to a 10-7 record, their best since 2015, and won Cincinnati their first playoff game in 31 years.
Photo by Lenny Ignelzi of the Associated Press
When you look at the stats of Hall of Famer Peyton Manning’s sophomore season, they are strikingly similar to Burrow’s. Manning led his team to a 13-3 record, had himself 4,135 yards, 26 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Both brought their teams from the shadows in their sophomore seasons, Burrows Bengals were 4-11-1 last year, and Manning's Colts had gone 3-13 in his rookie season. But it’s not just the stats and records that are similar.
Both quarterbacks were accompanied by a rookie of the year in their sophomore season. (Yes, I know Jamaar Chase isn’t the rookie of the year yet, but it’s pretty clear that he has that on lock.) Burrow had wide receiver Jamaar Chase, while Manning had running back Edgerrin James. Another interesting parallel is that both quarterbacks faced off against the Titans in the divisional round. While Manning lost, Burrows' fate is still up in the air.
Photo by Bob Ellis/Getty Images
Could we see Joe Burrow follow in Manning's footsteps even further, and see him lose to the Titans in the divisional round? I don't think so. When we look at the season Burrow has had, it’s easy to see he’s done phenomenal and has put the Bengals in a great position to win, but it isn't just because he’s playing well. Burrow has confidence in himself and his team, and he makes sure everyone knows it.
Although these two had extremely similar paths in their sophomore season, it's their attitudes that are extremely different, and is what will be the outlier in Joe Burrows path this postseason. In week 17 of the 1999-2000 season, after the Colts loss to the Bills, Peyton Manning stated this in a postgame interview.
“Nobody in… America would’ve thought the Colts were going 13 and 3, myself included, we got a first round bye, we’re gonna use it, whoever we play… we have a chance to play them at home, it’s going to be a great team and we have to play well to win in the playoffs.”
While Peyton Manning has always been known for being straightforward, this may not have been the time to say you may have doubted your team and yourself. When compared to Burrow’s postgame interview after the Bengals wild card win, we can see a stark difference in the way each talks about their team.
“You know it’s a great win, for us, for the city, for the organization, but you know we expected this, so… it’s not going to be a big celebration like it was when we won the division… we took care of business, on to the next round..”
Now, in no way am I saying that Manning wasn’t confident in his team or himself at all in his career, but what I am saying is at the time, he just might not have been. That is what will be the difference maker in Joe Burrows playoff run through the next couple weeks; will he prevail and lead his team to the Super Bowl? Or will he inevitably follow the same path that Peyton followed in his sophomore season? Tune in Saturday when the Bengals face off against the Titans, and find out what fate has in store for Joe Burrow.
Reference Page
Pro Football Reference
Espn.com
