One of the storylines of this NFL season has been the apparent decline of Tom Brady and the concurrent struggles of his Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have a 6-7 record (but are in first place in the embarrassingly weak NFC South).
As Brady nears the end of his storied career, the NFL, which is a superstar quarterback-driven league, is looking for the next Brady – a man who consistently produces and wins, wins and wins some more.
Former QB and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky said that Joe Burrow is taking the torch from Brady before everyone’s eyes.
.@danorlovsky7 says Joe Burrow is the next generation's Tom Brady 👀 pic.twitter.com/bAVcy91lYm
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 15, 2022
Orlovsky’s argument is that while Patrick Mahomes makes more spectacular plays and Justin Herbert is more physically impressive, Burrow simply produces at a high and steady level while he leads his Cincinnati Bengals to victories.
So far this season, Burrow is third in passing yards, second in passing touchdowns, and sixth in passer rating, yet he somehow has remained a bit under the radar compared to men like Mahomes, Herbert, and Josh Allen.
But the Bengals have a 9-4 record and are quietly re-establishing themselves as Super Bowl contenders.
.@EmmanuelAcho: Joe Burrow is to winning, what Josh Allen, Justin Herbert and Aaron Rodgers are to talent. pic.twitter.com/HgM9f9eTCL
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) December 6, 2022
Brady Made A Living By Producing Under Pressure
During Brady’s heyday, Peyton Manning was more prolific, but when the chips were down, Brady seemed to win whenever he had a great enough team around him.
Earlier in his career, some thought he may be nothing more than a very good “system” QB, but he disproved that theory by leading the Bucs to the world championship in 2020, his first year with them.
When it comes to the QB position, as well as leadership, one doesn’t need to put up the biggest numbers and convert the flashiest passes – he merely needs to be in the neighborhood of the best statistically while consistently winning big games.
Last year, in just his second year in the NFL, Burrow led the Bengals to the Super Bowl, where they were very competitive in losing to a Los Angeles Rams team that seemed preordained to win it all.
If Burrow makes the Bengals playing for (and winning) the Vince Lombardi Trophy a habit, he could very well become a carbon copy of Brady.
