I have said on record that Joe Burrow might be one of the best leaders in the NFL. I have to change my statement because he is pulling ahead of his team's final game of the season with the top seed on the line.
I think that Burrow is a top-5 leader in the NFL.
Hey, stupid! He isn't playing in the game. Can you not read? The football fan with the large amount of fragile masculinity said that this makes him a bad leader.
Thank you, I can read. The more older football fans may view the decision of Burrow to sit out the final game of the regular season with a little more dislike given that Tom Brady has sat out the final game of the regular season once in his career. Brady is admirable, but it is not the standard of greatness we should hold our athletes to.
In the closing moments of his team's Week 17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, Burrow suffered a leg injury. Brandon Allen had to come in and run a few plays before Evan McPherson kicked the game-winning field goal. I think that an injury is worth keeping an eye on, especially when the guy who got injured is in the conversation.
I would rather have certainty that my best player is going to be 100 percent for my team's first postseason appearance since 2015 than have him face Jadeveon Clowney. There will be situations this Sunday where Burrow will be hit. If the franchise quarterback has a compromised knee, the fans of the Cincinnati Reds shouldn't want him anywhere near potential tacklers and potentially ruining his chances of playing in the playoffs or even worse, missing games next season in order to recover.
If the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Broncos or the TennesseeTitans beat the Houston Texans, this game is meaningless. It is not worth the risk to gain a bye week.
This weekend, the Cincinnati Reds play the Cleveland Indians. The same team that has lost four of their last five and five of their last seven. They beat the Lions and Ravens by a combined five points. Baker Mayfield, the Cleveland quarterback, decided to heal his shoulder up immediately so he can start preparing for next season, which is why he wasn't going to play this weekend. I would rather have Mayfield under center than Case Keenum, but you can clown him for how he has performed this season.
Rather than being selfish while dealing with a minor injury, his decision to sit out this final week should be viewed more as him trusting Allen and the rest of his team that they can beat a Cleveland team. I hope every quarterback had that kind of faith. In the only game that he started this year, he beat the Broncos, but he wasn't an elite arm that could win games for Cleveland. The road that lies ahead is an indication that he is aware of.
Despite this being his first time in the playoffs, Burrow knows that the playoffs are all that matters, and he would rather take care of himself and give his all in a game than give a partial performance. The first division title in over half a decade has been secured by the Cincinnati Bengals. Enjoy the title. Don't get greedy and ask for a first-round bye now, all while risking the health of your star quarterback, who missed a lot of the 2020 season with a knee injury and has been dealing with an injury on his finger since the start of December.
I am sure that the Cincinnati organization is aware that the Chiefs play on Saturday. If the Chiefs lose, it will take almost 18 hours for him to decide if he can play. If the Chiefs win, the argument becomes unimportant and he can rest and prepare for the playoffs. Asking a player to risk his health in a meaningless game is stupid and selfish.
