Zac Taylor on Joe Burrow: When game is on the…

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The Bengals took quarterback Joe Burrow with the first overall pick of the 2020 draft with the hope that he’d transform the franchise’s fortunes and that happened a bit faster than most people expected.

After beating the Chiefs in overtime on Sunday, Burrow said that he “probably would’ve called you crazy” if you told him that he’d be going to the Super Bowl after his second professional season. That’s where the Bengals are headed, however, and Burrow’s play is a big reason why they’re headed to Los Angeles.

The Bengals trailed 21-3 in the first half, but Burrow threw a touchdown before halftime and kept the team moving in the second half by evading pass rushers as he made plays with his feet and arm to bring the Bengals back. The result wasn’t the prettiest statistical game of Burrow’s career, but it illustrated head coach Zac Taylor’s belief that Burrow will always find a way to get the job done.

“When the game is on the line, he is going to figure it out,” Taylor said, via Jay Morrison of TheAthletic.com. “Whether it is with his feet or extending plays. He made a comment last night that he was going to rush for 100 yards. I don’t know how many he ran for, but he sure took off there in the fourth quarter. He made some huge plays with his feet.”

Burrow’s rise might have come faster than he expected, but no one in Cincinnati will be looking to hit the brakes now that he’s revitalized a franchise that desperately needed a jolt of life.