With a two-week break between the NFL conference championship games and the Super Bowl, there tend to be a lot of media stories hitting the airwaves about the players and teams.
Some become headliners that take over the narrative leading up to the game.
Here are three NFL storylines that are overshadowing Super Bowl 56.
3. Joe Burrow Rewriting History
Since the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick in 2020, we have heard about how great he will be.
He was always projected as a future star or legend.
No one expected him to reach the Super Bowl in just his second season.
He can rewrite the NFL history books with a Super Bowl 56 victory.
Burrow will be in rare air with Hall of Fame starting quarterbacks who led their college and professional teams to National and Super Bowl Championships.
They are Joe Namath and Joe Montana.
Only 2 QBs in history have won a College National Championship and a Super Bowl as a starter..
• Joe Namath
• Joe MontanaJoe Burrow has a chance to become the 3rd
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) February 3, 2022
Burrow would be the first non-quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy, National Championship, and Super Bowl.
Joe Burrow is trying to become the first QB to win a Heisman, National Championship & Super Bowl. Crazy that a CB has already accomplished this. Eh @CharlesWoodson
— John Kuhn (@kuhnj30) February 7, 2022
The other players to accomplish this are Tony Dorsett, Marcus Allen, and Charles Woodson.
2. Odell Beckham Jr.’s Resurgence
Much to the chagrin of Cleveland Browns fans, the other narrative surrounding the Super Bowl is about Odell Beckham Jr.’s resurgence.
To be clear, no one in Cleveland wishes bad fortune on Beckham; however, the national media has been running with the story of the Browns’ mismanagement of the situation.
"Let's be real we're all laughing at the Cleveland Browns watching what OBJ has done with the Rams" ~@marshallfaulk#PMSinLA pic.twitter.com/8bbuHZiTJ0
— 🅿️at McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 8, 2022
Recall that the situation reared its ugly head when Beckham’s father posted a lengthy social media video essentially telling the world that his son was not at fault for any of the Browns’ offensive woes.
Beckham has not once been asked about or addressed the nasty breakup with his former team and the unfortunate way that it came about midseason.
Odell Beckham Jr. has yet to address the mess he left behind in Cleveland or what went wrong. None of the #Browns reporters on yesterday's Zoom call was called upon to ask a question during his Super Bowl availability.
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) February 8, 2022
1. LSU’s Dominance
Everyone knows that LSU is a college football powerhouse.
There are high-profile players on both teams who are LSU alumni.
It's an NFLSU takeover in LA #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/euVepFzzzp
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) February 8, 2022
The Bengals went all-in on LSU teammates drafting one of Burrow’s favorite collegiate targets in Ja’Marr Chase in 2021.
That superstar tandem of Burrow and Chase is part of the reason the Bengals are in the Super Bowl.
Defensive tackle Tyler Shelvin is the third LSU player on the Bengals roster.
Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is also an LSU alumnus who is a little older so he did not cross paths with Burrow and Chase.
The player who has the most contact with all parties involved is offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth.
Whitworth, 40, went to LSU, was selected by the Bengals in the 2006 NFL Draft, and played with them for 11 seasons through 2016.
He joined the Rams in 2017 and has remained with the team ever since.
Conclusion
The good news about the big game being just days away is that these storylines will be replaced with game-related ones.
This is just the media hype that dominates the NFL headlines for the two weeks between the championship games and the Super Bowl.
New storylines and history are set to be written on Super Bowl Sunday.
NEXT: NFL World Reacts To The Dan Snyder News
