Burrow gets first taste of rivalry with Browns
Joe Burrow’s childhood was pretty much the same as every other boy raised in football-obsessed Ohio, the birthplace of the NFL.
He learned his ABCS and multiplication tables in school. Outside, Burrow got lessons on Paul Brown, Jim Brown, Boomer Esiason, Bernie Kosar, The Ickey Shuffle and Dawg Pound.
On Thursday night, Burrow connects to those roots.
This year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, reigning Heisman Trophy winner and perhaps the quarterback to change Cincinnati’s fortunes, makes his first road start as the Bengals visit the Cleveland Browns to renew a rivalry Burrow learned about as a youngster.
“I know the history behind it,” he said. “Excited for my first one.”
The 23-year-old’s entry into the “Battle of Ohio” also comes on a significant date — the 100th anniversary of the league’s start in Canton, where an organization meeting on Sept. 17, 1920, kicked things off.
Burrow’s debut last week against the Chargers went about as expected. He made mistakes, showed the same resilience that took him from a third-stringer at Ohio State to national champion at LSU, and had the Bengals poised for a possible win. But they missed a lastsecond field goal to force overtime and lost 16-13.
Burrow scored his first TD on a 23yard run. He finished 23 of 36 for 193 yards, but was sharp down the stretch, going 8 of 11 for 70 yards on his final drive.
“In my eyes I played terrible through 3½ quarters and then played up to my standards in the last drive and almost won the game,” Burrow said. “I know I’ll be ready for it and I just have to keep that same mindset in the two-minute drill and bring that along for the rest of the season.”
One area of emphasis this week for Burrow will be hitting open receivers downfield. John Ross and A.J. Green got behind coverage on five occasions against the Chargers, but Burrow overthrew them each time.
“I just have to hit them, that’s all there is to it,” Burrow said.
Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan classified the incompletions as “missed opportunities” and added, “I certainly didn’t expect that to be the case.”
The Browns, meanwhile, were searching for any positives after getting blown out 38-6 in Baltimore, a rout that soured any excitement about the team’s potential under first-year coach
Kevin Stefanski.
Cleveland was undone by turnovers, penalties and missed kicks — a familiar refrain for Browns fans.
It was just one game, but it was a really bad one, and it has put early pressure on Stefanski, who didn’t have the benefit of a normal offseason, to get things fixed quickly.
There also is more scrutiny on quarterback Baker Mayfield. He set the tone last week with an interception on Cleveland’s first possession, and another uneven performance has raised more questions as to whether he’s the long-term answer for the Browns. Mayfield knows he’s got to be better. “There is a sense of urgency,” he said. “We hurt ourselves very early on in that game. The focus is on eliminating those mistakes and playing our game.”
One issue is that Mayfield and receiver Odell Beckham Jr. never found their rhythm.
They seemed on different pages at times last season, and started 2020 similarly disjointed. Against the Ravens, Beckham had three catches for 22 yards — his second-lowest total in his career game — despite Mayfield targeting him 10 times.
Beckham said he won’t demand more touches, as that only reinforces the narrative that he’s a selfish player.
“It’s a tough position to be in with the way that I feel like I’ve been misrepresented to the world,” he said. “It makes it just seem as if I just want the ball, when really I just want to help. I just want to be able to help this team in any way I can.”
One thing for sure about Thursday’s matchup is that it will be witnessed by the smallest crowd in Bengals-browns history; only 6,000 will be allowed inside Firstenergy Stadium because of COVID-19 restrictions.
“It better be a rowdy 6,000 in those stands,” Mayfield quipped.