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Fox Sports' Undisputed co-host Shannon Sharpe was left unimpressed with Joe Burrow's performance during the Super Bowl. The 25-year-old could not get his team over the line late in the fourth quarter, with Aaron Donald forcing a bad throw on fourth down to end the game.
The Rams defensive line caused havoc as they sacked him seven times, with Donald and Von Miller getting two apiece. Sharpe was left unimpressed with Burrow's performance and wants to pump the brakes on calling Burrow the next Tom Brady.
“Skip, his quarterback is 40. I mean, excuse me, his QBR was 40 throughout the playoffs. 50 is average. So, he's been below that. This is what Joe Burrow did his last five drives. After they took a 20 to 13 lead, punt, punt, punt, punt, turnover on downs. 50 yards. 50. Five zero total yards on his last five drives. Even the 75 yard okay. You say that he didn't turn his head; he didn't yank it. He didn't, you know, he didn't bleed, no blood, no fire. I get all that.
“But, Skip, he was very average yesterday. Basically, he had two big plays. A 75-yard touchdown to Higgins and a tremendous one-handed catch by Ja’Marr Chase. But other than that, he was 20 of 31 for 120 and zero touchdowns. But, Skip, I think we might have pump the brakes on this next Brady stuff. Okay, let's just hold on before we start. Because one 300-yard game, he had five touchdowns in four games. So, I gave him a C.
Joe Burrow couldn't deal with Rams defensive pressure
Having made a name for himself in the postseason for being able to deal with defensive pressure, having been sacked nine times against the Titans, it all caught up with Burrow at the worst time. Sharpe states that the Bengals' offensive line has been bad this season, but the Hall of Famer expected more from the young quarterback.
"I understand he was under duress," Sharpe said. "But what people was crowing about and giving him so much credit for is that he's been able to perform really well while dealing with this kind of duress. Don't make it seem like oh, his offensive line is bad. They've been bad. That’s why he led the league in sacks.
Hell, that’s what knocked him out of the game two years ago. His offensive line got him sacked, got his knee shredded when he was playing the Washington football team. So, all of a sudden, wait I didn't know, yes you did know. Did you not see? 19 sacks. He got sacked nine times in the game. How many times can a guy get sacked nine times and win the game?
"So, Skip, even though with the duress, I expected more. I gave him a C because I thought he was average and I think for the better part of the playoffs he's been average. Yes, they won and you know when you win, the quarterback is going to get the credit. But, Skip, he's been average. Especially compared to what we saw over the last four or five weeks of the regular season,” Sharpe finished.
It's clear that Burrow struggled against the might of the Rams defensive front in the Super Bowl, but a lot of players have. Given that it was just his second season in the NFL, the future is bright for Burrow and the Bengals.
Heading into the offseason and free agency, the Bengals have the third-highest cap space for next season with $57,307,379 available. What must be done is to solidify the offensive line to protect Burrow or the league could be looking at another Andrew Luck situation.
